Ireland to intervene in South Africa's genocide case against Israel

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin is poised to draft a declaration of intervention in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), according to media reports on Wednesday.

The Tánaiste, or foreign minister, is expected to apprise the Cabinet of the decision Wednesday.

Pending approval, the Irish government will formally intervene in the case under the auspices of the 1948 Genocide Convention, presenting its stance at the ICJ at The Hague.

While the specifics of the legal grounds for Ireland's intervention remain undisclosed, Martin asserted that his legal team had provided a basis for the action during a briefing last week.

He emphasized to reporters the dire humanitarian situation unfolding in Gaza, characterizing it as a "catastrophe" exacerbated by the obstruction of aid into the region.

Martin condemned the obstruction as inflicting "significant harm and destruction" upon the people of Gaza.

In a landmark ruling in January, the ICJ directed Israel to "take all measures within its power" to prevent acts falling under the purview of Article Two of the Genocide Convention -- crimes intended to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

More than 32,200 Palestinians have been killed and over 74,500 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched a brutal offensive against the enclave after the Palestinian resistance group attacked southern Israel in October, which killed less than 1,150 people.

International organizations, including UN agencies, have demanded a cease-fire in Gaza and increased humanitarian aid access to address the medical shortages, hunger, thirst, and hygiene deficiencies leading to diseases in Gaza.

The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees said March 10 that "hunger is everywhere" in Gaza.

According to the latest data from Gaza's Health Ministry, 27 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration in the Gaza Strip due to Israel's blockade, which has caused a massive "humanitarian disaster."

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.