South Africa accuses Israel of apartheid against Palestinians at top UN court

South Africa argued at the United Nations’ top court on Tuesday that Israel is responsible for apartheid against the Palestinians and that Israel’s occupation of land sought for a Palestinian state is “inherently and fundamentally illegal.” Israel rejects such claims.

The South African representatives were speaking on the second day of hearings at the International Court of Justice into a request by the General Assembly for a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of Israel’s policies in the occupied territories.

“South Africa bears a special obligation, both to its own people and the international community, to ensure that wherever the egregious and offensive practices of apartheid occur, these must be called out for what they are and brought to an immediate end,” the country’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, told the panel of 15 international judges.

Israel rejects accusations of apartheid, and usually dismisses UN bodies and international tribunals as unfair and biased against it. Israel is not making a statement during the hearings, which are taking place against the backdrop of the war in Gaza that has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Israel sent a written submission last year in which it argued that the questions put to the court are prejudiced and “fail to recognise Israel’s right and duty to protect its citizens,” address Israeli security concerns or acknowledge past agreements with the Palestinians to negotiate “the permanent status of the territory, security arrangements, settlements, and borders.”

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for an independent state. Israel considers the West Bank to be disputed territory and says its future should be decided in negotiations.

Israel has also built settlements across the West Bank, many of which resemble fully developed suburbs and small towns. The settlements are home to more than 500,000 Jewish settlers, while around 3 million Palestinians live in the territory. Israel annexed east Jerusalem and considers the entire city to be its capital.