The UN court will rule in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel

Israel will hear on Friday whether the United Nations Supreme Court will order it in a preliminary ruling to end its military offensive in Gaza as the panel hears a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide.

The President of the International Court of Justice, Joan E. Donoghue, will read the long-awaited decision of a panel of seventeen judges.

The ruling comes at an early stage in the South African case alleging that Israel’s military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide.

Israel strongly rejects the accusation and has asked the court to throw out the case.

South Africa has urgently asked the judges to impose so-called interim measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza while the case slowly progresses through the courts, a process that is likely to take years.

At the top of South Africa’s list is a request to the court to order Israel to immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.

Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said Thursday that Israel expects the court to dismiss the case.

We expect the International Court of Justice to dismiss these false and misleading allegations, he said.

An Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled Thursday with top legal, diplomatic and security officials as he awaited the verdict.

He said Israel is confident in its case but discussed all scenarios. Israel’s war cabinet also met later Thursday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing confidential meetings.

Marieke de Hoon, an associate professor of international law at the University of Amsterdam, said she does not think the court will end the case on Friday because the legal bar South Africa has to clear at this early stage of the proceedings is lower than if the The court decides to rule on the merits of the claim.

“I think they will shy away from actually calling for a complete ceasefire because I think they will find that beyond their capabilities at this point,” she said in a telephone interview.

Interim measures from the World Court are legally binding, but it is not clear whether Israel will follow any orders from the court.

European Union foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano said the 27-nation bloc’s position is clear: “We respect the ICJ and we believe that the ICJ’s rulings and decisions must be respected. This is the highest UN court.

Israel launched its massive air and ground assault on Gaza shortly after Hamas militants stormed into Israeli communities on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping another 250.

Netanyahu has vowed to fight on until his country achieves a complete victory over Hamas.

The offensive has entailed high humanitarian costs for Gazans. The territory’s health ministry says Israeli strikes killed at least 25,900 people, the majority of them women and children, and injured another 64,000 on Thursday afternoon. The count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The Israeli military claims at least 9,000 of those killed are Hamas militants.

UN officials have expressed fears that even more people could die from disease, with at least a quarter of the population facing famine.

Israel’s military assault has driven nearly 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents from their homes. Much of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, is in ruins.

The case touches on the national identity of Israel, which was founded as a Jewish state after the Nazi massacre of 6 million Jews during World War II.

South Africa’s own identity is crucial to bringing the case. His ruling party, the African National Congress, has long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule, which confined most black people to their own land before it ended in 1994 .

First print: January 26, 2024 | 12:30 pm IST