MONITORING (SW) – South Africa has filed a detailed submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) outlining evidence of Israel’s alleged violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention in its ongoing war on Gaza.
According to the South African presidency, the submission, also called a memorial, includes 750 pages of evidence of acts of genocide and genocidal intent, reported AP.
“The evidence will show that undergirding Israel’s genocidal acts is the special intent to commit genocide, a failure by Israel to prevent incitement to genocide, to prevent genocide itself and its failure to punish those inciting and committing acts of genocide,” a statement by the presidency said.
It added that the evidence is presented in more than 750 pages of text, in addition to over 4,000 pages of annexes.
Israel will have a deadline of 28 July 2025 to file a response, known as counter-memorial.
South Africa brought its case before the ICJ in December 2023, accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, to which Israel is a party, during the Gaza onslaught since 7 October.
The 84-page application, which included reporting by MEE, alleged that Israel has committed acts intended to destroy Palestinians, who are defined as a national, racial and ethnic group, in whole or in part. It also alleged that Israel has failed to prevent or punish such acts.
The evidence included statements by Israeli officials expressing “genocidal intent”, and a list of how Israel’s alleged actions had met the definition of genocide, as listed in the treaty.
The acts include killings; causing serious bodily and mental harm; mass expulsion and displacement; and deprivation of access to adequate food, water, shelter, clothes, hygiene, and medical assistance.
It may take several years before the ICJ makes a full judgement on the case. Its deliberations often involve a protracted process of written submissions and oral arguments by all parties to the case.
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