THE
HAGUE – In a historic event, Israel will appear for the first time before the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, on Thursday in
a lawsuit filed against it by South Africa accusing it of committing genocide
against Palestinians in Gaza, Al-Mamlaka TV reported.
اضافة اعلان
Israel
chose retired judge Aharon Barak, former president of the
Supreme Court of Israel, to represent it on the ICJ panel of judges in the lawsuit filed by South
Africa.
South
Africa submitted an 84-page request to the ICJ on December 29, 2023, to
initiate proceedings against Israel under the 1948 Genocide Convention.,
confirming that “Israel’s actions and shortcomings have a genocidal character
because they are accompanied by the specific intent required (…) to
destroy the Palestinians in Gaza as part of the broader national, ethnic, racial, or ethnic
group, the Palestinians.”
Since
October 7, Israel has launched a destructive war on Gaza, which has killed over
23,000 people and injured over 58,000. More than 70 percent of them are women and children, and more than
7,000 people are missing under the rubble. This is in addition to the enormous
destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented
medical catastrophe.
What if Israel does not comply with the court’s
decision?
Dr.
Anis Kassim, an expert on international law based in Jordan, said that the ICJ
issues two types of decisions: the first is a legal opinion, which is
non-binding, and the affected
party benefits from it, while the other is a judicial decision in a dispute
lawsuit, which is binding, like the lawsuit filed by South Africa against
Israel. He explained that if the court’s decision is issued, Israel must comply
as it is a member of the
Genocide Convention and the United Nations Charter.
Dr.
Kassim told Al-Mamlaka TV that the 1948 Genocide Convention punishes the
perpetrator (Israel) and the instigator (the US). He pointed out that it is
natural for the United States to stand against
South Africa’s lawsuit because
it “defends its position supporting Israel in the genocide war by participating
in sending at least 30 planes carrying military equipment and ammunition in
support of the
Israeli aggression on Gaza.”
“If
Israel insists on not complying with what the court decides in the lawsuit
filed by South Africa, the latter goes to the Security Council, which will
review the situation and decide that Israel must comply with the decisions of
the ICJ as the highest judicial court in the world and an integral part of the
UN,” according to Dr. Kassim.
Regarding
the possibility of the
United States using the veto in the Security Council,
Dr. Kassim ruled it out, saying that it would be a “great challenge” to
international law, explaining that Washington is a founder of the UN and the
ICJ, which is also headed by an American judge.
He
added, “If we assume that the US uses the veto, South Africa can, in
cooperation with a group of friendly and supportive countries of the lawsuit,
request a resolution from the General Assembly to besiege
Israel, boycott it,
withdraw ambassadors from it, withdraw diplomatic recognition, and prevent
Israeli aircraft from entering its airspace, and this means isolating Israel
from the world.”
Regarding
the integrity of the judiciary in the ICJ, he said, “I have confidence that the
judges of the court are honest and credible and come through an election in the UN, and their legal
backgrounds will prevent them from immersing themselves in bumps that may not
be suitable for their cultural, intellectual, and jurisprudential level.”
Palestinian
Assistant Foreign Minister to the UN, Omar Awadallah, confirmed that the
decisions of the ICJ are binding on all countries, not only in terms of not
committing genocide but also in preventing it and punishing it.
Regarding
the court session, Awadallah said that the court’s panel of 15 judges will hear
South Africa and its legal team for two hours on the first day, and the session
will be adjourned for deliberation. On the second day, the court will hear from
Israel, the session will then be adjourned to consider urgent procedures and
measures.
The
hearings are to be held in the ICJ on January 11 and 12.
Jordan’s role in the lawsuitJordan
was the first country to announce its support for the lawsuit filed by South
Africa, where
Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Ayman Safadi, confirmed that the Kingdom would provide the necessary
legal documents as soon as the ICJ considers the lawsuit.
Safadi
added that the ministry is working on preparing the necessary legal files, as
well as coordinating with Arab and Islamic countries.
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