South Africa Files ICJ Lawsuit Against “Israel” Over Genocidal Acts

By Staff, Agencies

South Africa has instituted proceedings against the apartheid “Israeli” entity at the International Court of Justice over the regime’s “genocidal” onslaught on Gaza, which has so far killed over 21,000 Palestinians.

The lawsuit says the entity actions are “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.”

“The acts in question include killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction,” the lawsuit said.

The application said “Israeli” attacks breach the UN’s Genocide Convention, and urged the court to “order ‘Israel’ to cease killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm to Palestinian people in Gaza.”

It said that “‘Israel’ has engaged in, is engaging in and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

“The acts in question include killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction,” the lawsuit said.

The application urged the court to “order ‘Israel’ to cease killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm to Palestinian people in Gaza.”

The “Israeli” entity’s foreign ministry said it rejects the case launched by South Africa at the ICJ.

Various governments and rights organizations have denounced the “Israeli” genocide in Gaza and called for international investigations into it.

South Africa has been one of the outspoken critics of “Israeli’s” ongoing onslaught against Palestinians and has led some initiatives to hold the entity accountable for its actions in Gaza.

The country’s lawmakers last month voted in favor of closing down the “Israeli” embassy in Pretoria and suspending all diplomatic relations until the onslaught stops. 

In November, the country referred the “Israeli” entity to the International Criminal Court, which is already investigating the occupied Palestinian territories.

South Africa has backed the Palestinian cause for statehood in “Israeli”-occupied territories for decades, likening the plight of Palestinians to those of the Black majority in South Africa during the repressive apartheid era.

The ICJ is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and helps settle disputes between states per international law.