South Africa’s historic trial against Israel over its war on Gaza began on Thursday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the world’s court based in The Hague. Pretoria accuses Israel of committing the crime of genocide in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
More than 23,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. This includes almost 10,000 children.
In its three-hour presentation before ICJ judges, the South African team, led by international law academic and lawyer John Dugard, outlined the heartbreaking plight of Palestinians in Gaza who are trapped in the siege, bombed by continued Israeli airstrikes and attacked by Israeli forces. a deadly Israeli military ground invasion.
It may be years before the ICJ issues a final judgment. But this week’s initial discussions focus on South Africa’s specific request for an emergency order against continued killing and destruction in the Gaza Strip. Experts estimate that a provisional sentence could be handed down in a few weeks.
Adila Hassim, one of the defenders representing South Africa, said there was no need for the court to rule now on the genocide allegations, but it could conclude that at least some of the actions of Israel fall within the definition of the convention. , and thus intervene.
Here are the top five “genocidal acts” that Hassim accuses Israel of carrying out during the war:
Massacres of Palestinians
The “first genocidal act is the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza,” Hassim said, showing the court photos of mass graves where bodies were buried, “often unidentified.” She said Israel had deployed highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs in areas of Gaza that it itself had declared safe. More than 1,800 families have lost multiple members, while some families have no survivors, Hassim said. No one was spared, not babies, and especially not children, she added.
Bodily and psychological damage
The second genocidal act, Hassim said, “is Israel’s infliction of serious mental and physical harm” on the people of Gaza. Nearly 60,000 people were injured and maimed, mostly women and children, in a region where the health system had collapsed, she added. Hassim cited the arrest of large numbers of Palestinians, including children, who were stripped naked and loaded onto trucks bound for unknown locations. “The suffering of the Palestinian people, physical and mental, is undeniable,” she said.
Forced displacement and food blockade
Hassim said Israel has deliberately imposed conditions that cannot sustain life and are calculated to bring about the destruction of Gaza through the forced displacement of most of the population. Hassim said thousands of families have been repeatedly displaced, and half a million of them now have no place to return to. She cited how Israel ordered entire hospitals to evacuate within 24 hours, with no help moving the injured or medical supplies. The same was true in large parts of northern Gaza, where more than a million people were asked to move at short notice.
“The order itself was genocidal,” Hassim said.
The lawyer said Israel also blocked food and water from the Gaza Strip, causing widespread famine, and removed the ability to distribute what was available by restricting workers’ movements. humanitarians. Hassim released a clip showing hundreds of Palestinians running after a truck carrying aid to Gaza.
Israel, Hassim added, also deliberately imposed conditions denying Palestinians in Gaza adequate shelter, clothing, bedding and other essential non-food items. She said there was no clean water for drinking, cleaning and cooking, and cases of illness, including diarrhea, were soaring. She said more Palestinians could die of hunger and disease, but the siege continues.
Destruction of the health system
The fourth genocidal action, Hassim said, is the Israeli military attack on Gaza’s health system which makes life unbearable. Gaza’s health services have already been crippled by years of Israeli attacks, she said, and now they are simply unable to cope with the large numbers of injured people who need life-saving care.
Prevent Palestinian births
Finally, Hassim added, Israel is blocking life-saving treatments needed for childbirth. This, she added, amounts to preventing births in Gaza and constitutes an act of genocide. Hassim also cited Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, who previously warned that “reproductive violence inflicted by Israel on Palestinian women, newborns and children…could be characterized as acts of genocide”.
After that ?
Israel will present its case on Friday and British lawyer Malcolm Shaw will lead his presentation. Legal experts say Tel Aviv is likely to argue its actions were self-defense, following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,139 people and saw more than 200 people taken hostage, authorities say Israelis.
Israeli officials spoke out against South Africa’s lawsuit. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that South Africa had displayed hypocrisy and lies in court.
“We fight terrorists, we fight lies,” Netanyahu said. “Today we saw a world turned upside down. Israel is accused of genocide while it fights against genocide.
To make its case, the South African legal team must not only prove that the indiscriminate massacres it describes as genocide actually took place, but also that there was an intention to commit these acts in Tel Aviv. .
“Genocides are never declared in advance,” lawyer Hassim said in her presentation, adding that all the Israeli actions she detailed were sufficient proof of genocidal intent.
Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, a second lawyer, cited statements by Israeli officials as further evidence of intent. He notably recalled Netanyahu’s comments on October 28, when the prime minister urged troops preparing to enter Gaza to “remember what Amalek did to you,” a biblical command from God to utterly destroy a band. “The destruction of Palestinian lives is an articulate state policy,” Ngcukaitobi added.
Several countries and international organizations have rallied behind South Africa in its cause. Malaysia, Bolivia and Turkey are among them.
Tel Aviv has benefited from the support of the United States, its main arms supplier and diplomatic patron. As proceedings began Thursday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in solidarity, and nearby, pro-Israeli protesters also marched.