South Africa spoke for oppressed Palestinians. The legal victory, even if only symbolic for now, is a plus for the security of humanity. Someone had to stand up for human rights, so grossly abused in the supposed Israeli hunt for Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
South Africa may not have extracted a ceasefire ruling from the International Court of Justice, but the temporary orders against Israel opens the possibility of ending further genocidal activities in Gaza.
There is no way of stopping the blockade on Gaza, killing and harming civilians, forced evacuation of civilians, denial of humanitarian aid and destruction of civilian infrastructure without desisting from further acts of aggression against Palestinians.
Sixteen to one judge of the apex United Nations justice system found Israel culpable of engaging in activities that amount to genocide in Gaza. The utterances of Israeli leaders, and actions therefrom, confirm South Africa’s case against the US-backed Israel.
The United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948 defines genocide as, “… acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part , a national, ethnic, racial or religious group…” South Africa and Israel are parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention.
The inciting utterances, especially by Israeli prime minister, president, and Benjamin Netanyahu’s war ministers provided fodder for the near-unanimous decision of justices of The Hague-based court. Executive rhetorics expose genocidal intent, while actions confirm the process of decimating what the Israeli leadership call Palestinian ‘human animals’.
By the time of ICJ’s temporary orders against Israel were issued, 28,000 Palestinians, mostly civilian women and children, had been slaughtered. About 70,000 injured, and more than 1,000,000 people displaced, following genocidal orders.
The abhorrent Hamas attack on partying Israeli youth on October 7 last year, provided the excuse for Israel to carry out the genocide. Israel’s claim of self-defence, through massive bombings, blockades and forced evacuations of civilians, have breached the borders of proportionality.
The ICJ’s 15 judges worked with two ad hoc justices from Israel and South Africa to arrive at the landmark decision last Friday. Israeli ruling party Likud, has referred to the case as ‘diplomatic terrorism’. They have also referred to the ruling as ‘antisemitism.’
The Genocide Convention of 1948 emerged from the ashes of German genocide against the Jewish people. Now, the same US-backed Jewish state, which was salvaged from the Adolf Hitler annihilation, is defending genocide against Palestinians.
Condemnation of holocaust, anywhere in the world, whether in Germany or Palestine, should attract universal condemnation. But the Western allies that saved Israel from Nazi Germany are defending Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.
The South Africa case and the ICJ’s temporary orders expose the doublespeak of the US, Germany, the UK and other countries that fund and arm Israel’s destruction of Gaza.
The ICJ does not have the capacity to impose its orders, but the court has directed Israel to report compliance with the interim rulings within 30 days beginning Friday, January 26.
South Africa, too, still has the option of taking on Israel again, before the ICJ, for noncompliance with the interim orders. The expected Israeli breach of the temporary orders can also still be taken up with the United Nations Security Council.
Veto-holders — the US, France and Britain — have sabotaged previous attempts by the UNSC to stop Israeli aggression in Palestine. After the ICJ ruling, further US, German, French and British support for Israel against Palestinians will be complicity in genocide.
The Palestinians have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land devoured by Israeli settlements and plagued by violence. Their economy stifled, their people displaced and their homes demolished.
South Africa and the ICJ have sent a strong signal: States, no matter how strong, no matter how powerful their enablers, should respect international law.