Bolivia files declaration of intervention to join genocide case against Israel

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Bolivia on Wednesday officially filed a declaration of intervention in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to join the genocide case against Israel for committing massacres in the Gaza Strip.

"Yesterday, Bolivia, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a Declaration of intervention in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel)," ICJ said in a statement.

Under Article 63 of the ICJ Statute, any state that is party to a convention has the right to intervene in proceedings that concern the construction of that convention.

Bolivia’s move means that the interpretation given by the Court in its eventual ruling will be binding on Bolivia as well.

In its declaration, Bolivia highlighted its interest in the interpretation of multiple provisions of the Genocide Convention, including Articles I, II, III, IV, V, VI, and IX.

These articles cover critical aspects such as defining genocide, obligations to prevent and punish the crime, and the jurisdiction of the ICJ over disputes related to the convention.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7.

More than 42,000 people have since been killed, most of them women and children, and over 97,700 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.