South Africa expecting ICJ judgment on Israel's 'genocide' in Gaza by Friday

A South African government delegation is in The Hague, expecting the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hand down judgement on provisional measures sought in the genocide case against Israel on Friday. South Africa is expecting the 17-member ICJ Bench to deliver its ruling on provisional measures that include Israel to stop military action in Gaza while the case is being determined, a report by News24.com quoted sources close to the matter as saying. However, the ICJ registrar has yet to issue formal communication on the matter. Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, South Africa approached the ICJ, accusing Israel of committing “genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza. Advocate of the High Court of South Africa, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, called Israel’s top leadership “genocidal inciters" and said their intent is to destroy Gaza. South Africa also claims that Israel’s assault is “intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group, that being the part of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip”. Israel in turn has dismissed the genocide claims and accused South Africa of acting as the “legal arm” of Hamas. Israel also argued that it has been exercising its fundamental right to self-defence under international law. On 7 October Hamas terrorists barged into Israel’s territory from Gaza and killed around 1,400 civilians. The terrorists also took more than 200 people with them as hostages and is using them to negotiate with Israel. Meanwhile, the conflict has killed more than 23,000 people in Gaza. The judges of the UN’s top legal body heard strong arguments from both sides and likely to deliver the verdict in the case soon. The ICJ will consider various facts before it to decide if Israel is guilty of “destroying a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part,” as per the 1948 Convention on Genocide. What is the role of ICJ? The role of the ICJ is to settle legal disputes between countries in accordance with international law and give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to by authorised United Nations organs and specialised agencies. The international court does not have its own enforcement agency to ensure the implementation of its orders. What if ICJ rules in favour of South Africa? If ICJ rules in favor of South Africa’s request, the international pressure on Israel will mount. But, Israel will still have the choose to ignore the verdict of the international court and continue its campaign in Gaza. The matter may then move to the UN Security Council, but as a permanent member of the UN body, the United States is expected to exercise its veto for any move against Israel. With inputs from agencies