South Africa Details Israel’s Genocidal Actions in Gaza
Jan. 11—The International Court of Justice (ICJ) (commonly known and the World Court) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Established in 1945, its seat is the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Its primary role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted by member states. The court’s final rulings are binding and cannot be appealed by member states, but depend on the Security Council for enforcement.
At 10 a.m. today, the ICJ convened for a public hearing on the Application submitted 29 November 2023 by South Africa for immediate relief in the form of provisional measures concerning Israel’s violation of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in its conduct regarding the people of Palestine.
The South African delegation was led by HE Mr. Vusimuzi Madonsela, Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, followed immediately by HE Ronald Lamola, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services of South Africa, and then Dr. Adila Hassim, Senior Counsel, Advocate of the High Court of South Africa.:
Standing right next to the Agent from Israel, South Africa’s Agents over the next three hours documented the violations by the State of Israel of the United Nations 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Both South Africa and Israel are signers to that Convention. Here we present excerpts from the oral presentations from two of South Africa’s Agents. Israeli Agents are scheduled to present Israel’s defense tomorrow.
Amb. Madonsela:
“In our application, South Africa has recognized the ongoing Nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe,” referring to the displacement and dispossession of Arabs during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war to create the state of Israel), of the Palestinian people, through Israel’s colonization since 1948, which has systematically and forcibly dispossessed, displaced, and fragmented the Palestinian people, deliberately denying them their internationally recognized inalienable right to self-determination; and their internationally recognized right of return as refugees to their towns and villages in what is now the State of Israel. We are also particularly mindful of Israel’s institutionalized regime of discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, designed and maintained to establish domination, subjecting the Palestinian people to apartheid, on both sides of the Green Line.
“Decades-long impunity for widespread and systematic human rights violations has emboldened Israel in its recurrence and intensification of international crimes in Palestine. At the outset, South Africa acknowledges that the genocidal acts and omissions by the State of Israel inevitably form part of a continuum of illegal acts perpetrated against the Palestinian people since 1948.
“The Application places Israel’s genocidal acts and omissions within the broad context of Israel’s 75-year apartheid, 56-year occupation, and 16-year siege imposed on the Gaza Strip—a siege which itself has been described by a UN agency director of in Gaza, as a “silent killer of people.” …
“Today, we are joined in Court by representatives of the Palestinian state … including residents of Gaza … who managed to get out. Their future and the future of their fellow Palestinians still in Gaza will depend on the decision this Court will make in this matter.”
HE Ronald Lamola:
“‘In extending our hands across the miles to the people of Palestine, we do so in full knowledge that we are part of a humanity that is a One.’ These were the words of our founding President Nelson Mandela….
“No amount of attack on the state territory, no matter how serious, even an attack involving atrocity crimes, can provide any justification for, or defense to breaches to the Convention, whether it is a matter of law or morality. Israel’s response to the attack of 7 October 2023 has crossed that line, and gives rise to the breaches of the Convention.”…
“I invoke the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Dr. Adila Hassim, SC:
“This case underscores the very essence of our shared humanity as expressed in the Preamble to the Genocide Convention. It my task to address the genocidal acts that have led to our urgent request for provisional measures under Article 41 of the statutes of the Court.
“South Africa contends that Israel has transgressed the Convention’s Article II, Acts committed with intent to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial, or religious group, as such, by committing actions that fall within the definition of genocide. The actions show a systematic pattern of conduct from which genocide can be inferred….
Gaza is one of the two constituent territories of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, occupied by Israel since 1967. It is a narrow strip of approximately 365 square km…. Israel continues to exercise control over the space, territorial waters, land crossings, water, electricity, electromagnetic sphere, and civilian infrastructure in Gaza, as well as over key governmental functions….
Entry and exit by air and sea to Gaza is prohibited, with Israel operating the only two crossing points….
For the past 96 days Israel has subjected Gaza to what has been described as one of the heaviest conventional bombing campaigns in the history of modern warfare. Palestinians in Gaza are being killed by Israeli weaponry and bombs from air, land, and sea.
They are also at immediate risk of death by starvation, dehydration, and disease, as a result of the ongoing siege by Israel, the destruction of Palestinian towns, the insufficient aid being allowed through to the Palestinian population, and the impossibility of distributing this limited aid while bombs fall.
This conduct renders essentials to life unobtainable….
The first genocidal act committed by Israel is the mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza, in violation of Article II (a) Genocide.
António Gutierrez
As the UN Secretary General [António Gutierrez] explained five weeks ago, the level of Israel’s killing is so extensive that nowhere is safe in Gaza. As I stand before you today, 23,210 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces during the sustained attacks over the last three months, at least 70% of whom are believed to be women and children. Some 7,000 Palestinians are still missing, presumed dead under the rubble.…
The second genocidal act identified in South Africa’s application is Israel’s infliction of serious bodily or mental harm to Palestinians in Gaza in violation of Article II (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.
Israel’s attacks have left close to 60,000 Palestinians wounded and maimed. Again, the majority of them women and children. This, in circumstances where the healthcare system has all but collapsed.…
“The suffering of the Palestinian people, physical, and mental, is undeniable. Turning to the third genocidal act, under Article II (c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide, Israel has deliberately imposed conditions on Gaza that cannot sustain life, and are calculated to bring about its physical destruction. Israel achieves this in at least four ways.
First, by displacement:
Israel has forced the displacement of about 85% of Palestinians in Gaza. There is nowhere safe for them to flee to. Those who cannot leave or refuse to be displaced have either been killed, or are at extreme risk of being killed in their homes.
Many Palestinians have been displaced multiple times, as families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety.
Israel’s first evacuation order on 13 October, required the evacuation of over one million people, including children, the elderly, the wounded, and infirm. Entire hospitals were required to evacuate, even newborn babies in intensive care.
The order required them to evacuate the north [of Gaza] to the south within 24 hours. The order itself was genocidal. It required immediate movement, taking only what could be carried, while no humanitarian assistance was permitted, and fuel, water and food, and other necessities of life had been deliberately cut off. It was clearly calculated to bring about the destruction of the population.
For many Palestinians, the forced evacuation from their homes is inevitably permanent. Israel has now damaged or destroyed an estimated 350,000 Palestinian homes, leaving at least half a million Palestinians with no home to return to….
Second, by actions deliberately calculated to cause widespread hunger, dehydration, and starvation:
Israel’s campaign has pushed Gazans to the brink of famine. An unprecedented 93% of the population in Gaza is facing crisis levels of hunger. Of all the people in the world currently suffering catastrophic hunger, more than 80% are in Gaza.…
Just three days ago, on 8 January, a planned mission by UN agencies to deliver urgent medical supplies and vital fuel to a hospital and medical supply center was denied by Israeli authorities. This marked the fifth denial of a mission to this center since 26 December, leaving five hospitals in northern Gaza without access to lifesaving medical supplies and equipment….
Third, by denial of adequate shelter, clothes, or sanitation:
For weeks, there have been acute shortages of clothes, bedding, blankets, and critical non-food items. Clean water is all but gone, leaving far below the amount required to safely drink, clean, and cook.
Accordingly, the [UN’s] World Health Organization has stated that Gaza is experiencing soaring rates of infectious disease outbreaks. Cases of diarrhea in children under five years of age have increased 2,000% since hostilities began. When combined and left untreated, malnutrition and disease create a deadly cycle.
Fourth, by Israel’s military assault on Gaza’s healthcare system [which] renders life unsustainable:
Even by 7 December, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, [Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng], noted that the healthcare infrastructure in the Gaza Strip has been completely obliterated. Those wounded by Israel in Gaza are being deprived of lifesaving medical care….
Finally, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, [Reem Alsalem], has pointed to acts committed by Israel that would fall under the fourth category of genocidal acts, in Article II (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
On 22 November she expressly warned the following:
“The reproductive violence inflicted by Israel on Palestinian women, newborn babies, infants, and children, could be qualified as acts of genocide under Article II of the Genocide Convention, including imposing measures intended to prevent births within a group.”
Conclusion:
In sum, Madam President [Joan E. Donoghue], all of these acts individually and collectively form a calculated pattern of conduct by Israel indicating a genocidal intent.
This intent is evident from Israel’s conduct in: specially targeting Palestinians living in Gaza; using weaponry that causes large-scale homicidal destruction, as well as targetted sniping of civilians; designating safe zones for Palestinians to seek refuge, and then bombing these; depriving Palestinians in Gaza of basic needs—food, water, healthcare, fuel, sanitation, and communications; destroying social infrastructure, homes, schools, mosques, churches, hospitals; and killing, seriously injuring, and leaving large numbers of children orphaned.…
Every day there is mounting irreparable loss of life, property, dignity, and humanity for the Palestinian people.
Our news feeds show graphic images of suffering that has become unbearable to watch. Nothing will stop the suffering except an order from this court. Without an indication of provisional measures, the atrocities will continue, with the Israel Defense Forces indicating that it intends pursuing this course of action for at least a year.
In the words of the UN Under-Secretary-General, [Amina Mohammed], on 5 January 2024, I quote:
“You think getting aid into Gaza is easy? Think again. Three layers of inspections before trucks can even enter. Confusion and long queues. A growing list of rejected items. A crossing point meant for pedestrians not trucks. Another crossing point where trucks have been blocked by desperate, hungry communities. A destroyed commercial sector. Constant bombardments, poor communications, damaged roads, convoys shot at, delays at checkpoints, a traumatized and exhausted population crammed into a smaller and smaller sliver of land, and shelters which have long exceeded their full capacity. Aid workers themselves displaced, killed. This is an impossible situation for the people of Gaza and for those trying to help them. The fighting must stop.”
At the end of the hearing, the Agent of South Africa and the Co-Agent of Israel made the following requests to the Court:
For South Africa:
“South Africa, as a State party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, respectfully requests the Court, as a matter of extreme urgency, pending the Court’s determination of this case on the merits, to indicate the following provisional measures in relation to the Palestinian people as a group protected by the Genocide Convention. These measures are directly linked to the rights that form the subject matter of South Africa’s dispute with Israel:
(1) The State of Israel shall immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza;
(2) The State of Israel shall ensure that any military or irregular armed units which may be directed, supported or influenced by it, as well as any organizations and persons which may be subject to its control, direction or influence, take no steps in furtherance of the military operations referred to point (1) above;
(3) The Republic of South Africa and the State of Israel shall each, in accordance with their obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to the Palestinian people, take all reasonable measures within their power to prevent genocide;
(4) The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to the Palestinian people as a group protected by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, desist from the commission of any and all acts within the scope of Article II of the Convention, in particular:
(a) killing members of the group;
(b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to the members of the group;
(c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and
(d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(5) The State of Israel shall, pursuant to point (4) (c) above, in relation to Palestinians, desist from, and take all measures within its power including the rescinding of relevant orders, of restrictions and/or of prohibitions to prevent:
(a) the expulsion and forced displacement from their homes;
(b) the deprivation of:
(i) access to adequate food and water;
(ii) access to humanitarian assistance, including access to adequate fuel, shelter, clothes, hygiene and sanitation;
(iii) medical supplies and assistance; and
(c) the destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza;
(6) The State of Israel shall, in relation to Palestinians, ensure that its military, as well as any irregular armed units or individuals which may be directed, supported or - 3 - otherwise influenced by it and any organizations and persons which may be subject to its control, direction or influence, do not commit any acts described in (4) and (5) above, or engage in direct and public incitement to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, attempt to commit genocide, or complicity in genocide, and insofar as they do engage therein, that steps are taken towards their punishment pursuant to Articles I, II, III and IV of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
(7) The State of Israel shall take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; to that end, the State of Israel shall not act to deny or otherwise restrict access by fact-finding missions, international mandates and other bodies to Gaza to assist in ensuring the preservation and retention of said evidence;
(8) The State of Israel shall submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to this Order within one week, as from the date of this Order, and thereafter at such regular intervals as the Court shall order, until a final decision on the case is rendered by the Court, and that such reports shall be published by the Court;
(9) The State of Israel shall refrain from any action and shall ensure that no action is taken which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.”
For Israel:
“In accordance with Article 60, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Court, for the reasons given during the hearing of 12 January, 2024 and any other reasons the Court might deem appropriate, the State of Israel hereby requests the Court to:
(1) Reject the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa; and
(2) Remove the case from the General List.”