The International Court of Justice will hear 52 countries on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
South Africa has told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague that Israel is responsible for apartheid against the Palestinians and that its occupation is “inherently and fundamentally illegal”.
South African representatives opened the second day of hearings at the ICJ on Tuesday and spoke on a request from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of Israeli policy in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“As South Africans, we feel, see, hear and feel deep within ourselves the inhumane discriminatory policies and practices of the Israeli regime as an even more extreme form of institutionalized apartheid against black people in my country” , said Vusimuzi Madonsela, South African. African Ambassador to the Netherlands, where the ICJ is based.
“It is clear that the illegal occupation of Israel is also administered in violation of the crime of apartheid… It is indistinguishable from settler colonialism. Israeli apartheid must end,” Madonsela said.
He added that South Africa had a “special obligation” to denounce apartheid wherever it occurs and ensure that it is “ended immediately”.
South Africa, which has a long history of support for the Palestinians and has compared their struggle with its history under an apartheid system, has launched separate proceedings at the ICJ accusing Israel of “genocide” in its bombing of Gaza.
More than 50 countries are to present their arguments to the ICJ on the legal implications of the Israeli occupation.
On Tuesday, representatives from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile presented their positions.
The panel of 15 judges was tasked with examining Israel’s “occupation, colonization and annexation…including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, as well as the adoption of laws and related discriminatory measures”.
Israel has continued building illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, which is now home to more than 500,000 Jewish settlers and 3 million Palestinians.
Israeli settlers have become increasingly violent. Their actions have been condemned by world leaders, particularly in recent months as Israel attacks Gaza.
But South African representative Pieter Andreas Stemmet told the court that the settlements extended the “temporary nature of the occupation to a permanent situation in violation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.”
On Monday, Palestinian representatives asked the UN’s highest court to declare the occupation illegal. They said such an advisory opinion could contribute to a two-state solution and lasting peace.
In an emotional speech, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki called on the court to treat Palestinian children as children, adding that “the identity of the group to which we belong does not diminish the human rights to which we are all entitled “.
Israel has refused to attend the hearings and said in a written statement that an advisory opinion would harm the achievement of a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians – even though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly rejects the idea of a Palestinian state.
On Monday, Netanyahu said Israel did not recognize the legitimacy of the discussions at the ICJ, calling it a “Palestinian attempt to dictate the results of the political agreement without negotiations.”
While judges are expected to take around six months to issue an opinion on the case, political analyst Gideon Levy told Tel Aviv Tribune he “fears” the ICJ case will have little impact on Israeli policy, but that it “depends a lot on the international situation”. community”.
“The only question is whether the world will be able to move from recriminations and condemnations to actions,” he said.
