By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
THE HAUGE (AA) - Hundreds of protesters on the sidelines of International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearings in a genocide case against Israel on Thursday called for an end to the ongoing "genocide with impunity" in Gaza.
"I’m here because I had to watch children being killed every day for three months already, and a genocide is happening with impunity. I’m really against that," Johanna, a protester, told Anadolu at The Hauge.
"However, it will end; this is the birth of a new world, and things are really going to change," she said. "We are super determined to make that change all over the world."
Another protester, Ariana, told Anadolu: "I am here today because I feel very passionately that we can no longer support the occupation of Gaza."
"We have been seeing murders, massacres for the past few months, and in the last 50, 60, 70 years, we have been witnessing horrendous things in Gaza happening," she said, adding that the world "can no longer tolerate it for a moment longer."
She expressed gratitude to South Africa, which filed the genocide case, for "calling Israel to take responsibility for their actions and to stop committing genocide."
On the first day of the trial, South Africa will be presenting hard evidence in the case it filed on Dec. 29, accusing Israel of genocide and violation of the UN Genocide Convention with its actions in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.
The South African side is requesting an injunction by the top UN court to halt Israel's military assault on Gaza, which has dragged on for more than three months, with the death toll rising to over 23,300.
The 84-page filing by South Africa accuses Israel of acts and omissions "genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group."
It said Israel's genocidal acts include killing Palestinians, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, mass expulsion from homes and displacement, imposing measures intended to prevent Palestinian births, and deprivation of access to adequate food, water, shelter, sanitation, and medical assistance.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola is leading the South African delegation and will be joined by senior political figures from progressive political parties and movements across the globe.
Thursday's hearing is set to last three hours and will be followed by Israel's arguments in its defense the next day.