Israel denies genocide charges at the International Court of Justice

Israel has submitted its response to the Court regarding the new measures requested by the Republic of South Africa. In a written statement released by the ICJ, Israel denied responsibility for the starvation and massacres in Gaza and accused South Africa, which requested the new provisional measures, of abusing the Court's authority.

ACCUSED SOUTH AFRICA

Regarding the allegations by South Africa, which holds Israel responsible for the starvation and massacres in Gaza, Israel stated: "These are completely baseless in fact and law, morally repugnant, and represent an abuse of both the Genocide Convention and the Court's authority." it said.

While South Africa claims that the starvation in Gaza is "a direct result of Israel's deliberate acts and omissions, and that Israel is using humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip by creating a hostile and unworkable environment for aid organizations," Israel rejected these claims, arguing that it is actively working with the United Nations (UN) and third-party countries to resolve the food crisis in Gaza.

Israel accused South Africa of abusing the Court's provisional measures procedures, stating that it "ignores certain facts and offensively and deliberately distorts others." Israel made this accusation in its submission. 

While Israel based its defense regarding the significant increase in humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza on data from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), it left unanswered the allegations contained in South Africa's petition for additional measures, which cited UN agencies' reports that humanitarian aid is being obstructed.

REQUEST TO REJECT ADDITIONAL MEASURES

Requesting the rejection of South Africa's additional measures, Israel argued that it has made various humanitarian efforts, facilitated the delivery of humanitarian aid, and worked to minimize civilian harm throughout the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

In its statement, "There are significant challenges in finding solutions to the humanitarian suffering in Gaza. Tragic and painful civilian losses are also occurring in this war," Israel stated, arguing that everything included in South Africa's request for new measures was already covered in the Court's January 26 ruling, and therefore requested that the request for additional measures be rejected.

Israel claimed that South Africa aims to increase oversight of the conflict in Gaza by requesting the renewal of previously issued provisional measures, stating, "Its goal is to constantly attract political attention and demonstrate its ongoing solidarity with its ally, Hamas," it added.

WHAT HAPPENED?

South Africa had requested that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) modify the provisional measures issued against Israel on January 26 or order new measures due to the starvation of Gazans.

In its request for new measures, South Africa stated that Israel has persistently failed to comply with the ICJ's provisional measures issued on January 26 and continues its "horrific violations" in Gaza, "in order to urgently ensure the safety and security of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 1 million children," and had requested that the Court urgently modify the six provisional measures it ruled against Israel on January 26 and/or decide on new urgent measures.

At the end of its petition, South Africa recalled that Bosnia and Herzegovina had also requested additional measures in the Srebrenica genocide case at the ICJ, and that two years after the Court rejected the request for additional measures, a genocide occurred in which 7,336 Bosniaks were killed, stating,"South Africa calls on the ICJ at this point to act before it is too late to do everything in its power to save the Palestinians in Gaza from starvation that amounts to genocide" it had used the expression.

In its application, South Africa emphasized that under Article 75 of the Rules of Court of the ICJ, the Court may indicate provisional measures at any stage of the proceedings, and that significant developments have occurred in Gaza since January 26 that necessitate the Court to order new measures.

On December 29, 2023, the Republic of South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ, alleging violations of the 1948 United Nations (UN) Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Due to the urgency of the situation in Gaza, South Africa requested that the ICJ indicate provisional measures, and hearings regarding the request for measures were held at the Peace Palace in The Hague on January 11-12.

In its provisional measures ruling announced on January 26, the Court ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of acts defined in Article 2 of the Genocide Convention; to ensure that its military does not commit any acts defined in Article 2 of the Genocide Convention; to take all necessary steps to prevent, stop, and punish those who incite genocide against Palestinians in Gaza; to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid to address the adverse living conditions faced by Palestinians in Gaza; to take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of violations of the Genocide Convention against Palestinians in Gaza; and to submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to this order within one month.

South Africa requested the indication of new measures on February 13 due to Israel's planned offensive on Rafah; however, in its decision on February 16, the Court rejected the request for additional measures, stating that Israel must immediately and effectively implement the existing provisional measures.