The South American state “has the responsibility to condemn the crime of genocide,” he states in his file.
Bolivia has officially joined the South African genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), according to the court in The Hague.
The South American nation filed a request to intervene in the case on Tuesday, accusing Israel of carrying out “genocidal acts” in violation of the Genocide Convention in its war on Gaza.
Bolivia’s decision places it among a growing list of states engaged in the matter, including Colombia, Libya, Spain, Mexico, Palestine, Nicaragua and Turkey.
In January, the ICJ ruled that Israel must do everything in its power to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza and guarantee United Nations-mandated investigators “unhindered access” to the enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the court’s interim ruling, calling it “scandalous” and said Israel would continue its “just war.”
A month later, rights organization Amnesty International said Israel had “failed to take minimal steps” to comply with the ICJ order.
South Africa has since returned to the ICJ several times, arguing that the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza requires further emergency measures.
In late May, the ICJ ordered Israel to immediately cease its offensive in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, a decision that Israel also ignored.
Even though ICJ rulings are legally binding, the Court has no way of enforcing them.
In its submission to the ICJ, Bolivia, which severed ties with Israel in November, argued: “Israel’s genocidal war continues and the Court’s orders remain a dead letter for Israel. »
“Bolivia seeks to intervene because it considers that it has a responsibility to condemn the crime of genocide,” the statement said.
Israel’s year-long war in Gaza has killed more than 42,000 people, most of them civilians, according to the enclave’s health ministry. This equates to one in 55 people living there. An attack carried out by Hamas, the Palestinian group that administers Gaza, killed 1,139 people in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), the main humanitarian group operating in Gaza, said in a message commemorating the first anniversary of the war that residents of the enclave continue to endure “indescribable suffering”.
“Not a day goes by without families in Gaza being subjected to indescribable suffering, as forced displacement, disease, hunger and death have become the daily norm for two million people trapped in an enclave bombed and besieged,” Lazzarini said.
