UPDATES WITH ADDITION OF MORE NATIONS
By Esra Tekin
ISTANBUL (AA) - In a historic first, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague on Thursday opened its inaugural session on South Africa's genocide allegations against Israel, a development that has garnered widespread support from many nations, echoing global calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, while facing opposition from some countries, including the US and UK.
In December, South Africa initiated legal proceedings accusing Israel of genocide during its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
- Countries, organizations supporting South Africa’s case against Israel at ICJ
The Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), with 57 member states including Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and Morocco, supports the case.
Arab League also voiced support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said late Wednesday that he hopes for “a fair and brave judicial ruling to halt this aggressive war and put an end to the Palestinian bloodshed.”
Malaysia, advocating for an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, also supports South Africa's case.
Türkiye, strongly condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza, welcomed the case at the ICJ.
Indonesia extended "moral" and "political" support to South Africa over its cases against Israel.
Jakarta, however, “cannot” join the lawsuit as it is not a party to the 1948 Genocide Convention.
The Southeast Asian nation’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will also deliver an oral statement before the ICJ on Feb. 19 as part of the proceedings instituted by South Africa against Israel's alleged genocide committed in Gaza.
Bolivia, the first Latin American country to back the case, condemns the illegal Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories. Venezuela and other nations like the Maldives and Namibia are also supporting South Africa's case.
Belgium, though not officially supporting the case, has Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter expressing support for South Africa's case against Israel.
Although the Irish government has so far been silent on the case, opposition parties in Ireland have demanded that the government support South Africa’s referral of Israel to the ICJ.
Despite the majority in Israel supporting the army’s actions, left-wing Israeli leader Ofer Cassif has voiced support for South Africa’s case.
Colombia and Iran also extended support to the case.
- Countries against South Africa’s case
The US opposes the genocide case, with National Security spokesman John Kirby calling it "meritless, counterproductive, and completely without any basis."
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called the case without merit, adding that it distracts the world from efforts for peace and security.
"The charge of genocide is meritless," Blinken said at a news conference in Israel this week on his fourth Middle East tour since an Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
"It's particularly galling given that those who are attacking Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, as well as their support on Iran, continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews."
The UK also refused to back the case, also avoiding the question of Israel’s Gaza Strip occupation over two months since its ground invasion.
Many groups and lawmakers urged government of Australia to back South Africa in the case.
- Case filed by South Africa
South Africa’s suit seeks to spotlight the alleged genocidal actions and end the military campaign that has claimed the lives of over 23,000 Palestinians, including nearly 10,000 children.
South Africa, in an extensive 84-page submission, asserts that Israel has breached the 1948 Genocide Convention, a pivotal document conceived in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust. The legal filing points to these violations as the basis for the accusations against Israel.
Both South Africa and Israel, signatories to the UN Genocide Convention, have placed the ICJ in a pivotal role as the highest UN legal authority, empowered to adjudicate disputes related to the treaty. The convention mandates participating states, including both nations, to refrain from engaging in genocide and to actively prevent and penalize such acts.
According to the treaty, genocide involves acts carried out with the intent to obliterate, either wholly or partially, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.