South Africa's genocide case against Israel at UN's top court based on strong evidence: Lawyers
Lawyers representing South Africa in a looming trial against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) say their genocide complaint against the regime is based on strong evidence.
Sources close to the South African defense team said on Wednesday that they are optimistic that justice will be served in the ICJ case against Israel.
The sources, citing a report by the Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen TV channel, said that their case against Israel contains well-established evidence of acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing committed by the regime during more than three months of aggression against the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
The ICJ will start a two-day trial on Thursday to hear South Africa’s complaint against Israel. South Africa hopes it could secure an emergency verdict ordering Israel to stop its brutal military campaign against Gaza as hearings to examine the case itself could take years.
Reports said South Africa’s defense team had thoroughly documented evidence of genocide carried out by the Israeli regime in Gaza as part of an 84-page dossier submitted to the ICJ.
Israel is a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention, meaning that it cannot dodge the UN court hearing. Under the Convention, parties are obliged to not commit genocide and also to prevent and punish it.
However, South African authorities believe Israel’s conducts in Gaza fit the very definition of genocide in the convention which stipulates that “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” are classified as genocide.
“Our opposition to the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza has driven us as a country to approach the ICJ,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday, adding that similar to the people in Gaza, his country was once subject to “dispossession, discrimination, racism and state-sponsored violence.”
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