Explainer | What is the genocide case against Israel at top UN court?
- South Africa says by killing Palestinians in Gaza, ‘calculated to bring about their physical destruction’, Israel is committing genocide against them
- Israel called the claim baseless, and accused South Africa of ‘absurd blood libel’ or baseless allegations intended to stir up lethal hatred of Jews
What is the ICJ?
The ICJ, also called the World Court, is the highest United Nations legal body, established in 1945 to deal with disputes between states. It should not be confused with the treaty-based International Criminal Court, also in The Hague, which handles war crimes cases against individuals.
The ICJ’s 15-judge panel – which will be expanded by an additional judge from each side in the Israel case – deals with border disputes and increasingly cases brought by states accusing others of breaking UN treaty obligations.
Both South Africa and Israel are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which gives the ICJ the jurisdiction to rule on disputes over the treaty.
While the case revolves around the occupied Palestinian territories, Palestinians have no official role in the proceedings because they are not a United Nations member state.
All states that signed the Genocide Convention are obliged not only not to commit genocide, but also to prevent and punish it. The treaty defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.
What is South Africa’s case?
In its 84-page filing South Africa says that by killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious mental and bodily harm and by creating conditions on life “calculated to bring about their physical destruction”, Israel is committing genocide against them.