Pretoria’s urgent request to the World Court on Tuesday calls for further action as Israeli shelling and airstrikes killed more than 100 Palestinian people across Rafah overnight Monday.
South Africa presenting its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice at the Hague on Jan. 12. (ICJ, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Israel’s bombardment of Rafah in southern Gaza and its stated plan to expand its attack with a ground assault puts the country in breach of a clear directive from the International Court of Justice, said South African officials on Tuesday, less than three weeks after the court ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent genocidal violence in Gaza.
The South African government made an urgent request of the ICJ, or the World Court, calling on it to take further action as more than 100 Palestinian people were killed by Israeli shelling and airstrikes in multiple locations across Rafah overnight Monday.
Israel forced 1.9 million Palestinians into Rafah — the only “safe zone” left in Gaza — then bombed it. pic.twitter.com/Je6anRFRKB
— AJ+ (@ajplus) February 13, 2024
As Israel has waged relentless air and ground attacks across Gaza since Oct. 7, more than 1.3 million people — more than half of the enclave’s population — have sought refuge in shelters and makeshift tents in Rafah, leaving them with nowhere to go in recent days as the Israel Defense Forces stepped up its assault on the city.
Important – South Africa asks the International Court of Justice to consider whether Israel’s planned #Rafah assault requires the court to use its power to prevent further imminent breach of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza.
?They say the assault “would be in serious and… pic.twitter.com/9qlvd1Ej1p— kristyan benedict (@KreaseChan) February 13, 2024
South Africa said in a statement Tuesday that Israel’s stated plan to launch a ground offensive in the city “requires that the court uses its power to prevent further imminent breach of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza.”
“The unprecedented military offensive against Rafah, as announced by the state of Israel, has already led to and will result in further large scale killing, harm, and destruction,” said the South African government in a court filing submitted on Monday. “This would be in serious and irreparable breach both of the Genocide Convention and of the court’s order of January 26, 2024.”
After South Africa filed a case at the ICJ claiming Israel is committing genocidal acts in Gaza — and presenting exhaustive evidence, including clear statements from top officials ordering the targeting of civilians in the enclave — the court issued an interim ruling on Jan. 26 saying the complaint was “plausible” and requiring Israel to ensure its military does not violate the Genocide Convention.
South Africa noted in its filing Monday that under Article 75(1) in the rules of the ICJ,
“The court may at any time decide to examine proprio motu whether the circumstances of the case require the indication of provisional measures which ought to be taken or complied with by any or all of the parties.”
The government “feels that facts on the ground have changed so significantly,” said Feature Story News correspondent Alex Cadier, “that the court should urgently revisit the provisional measures it ordered a few weeks ago.”
Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini: "There is absolutely no safe place in Rafah anymore. They are asked to move, but the question is, where to move?" pic.twitter.com/OLz2iI7Mu3
— PALESTINE ONLINE ?? (@OnlinePalEng) February 13, 2024
Rafah is just the latest Gaza city that, after being designated a so-called safe zone for civilians, has been besieged by U.S.-backed Israeli troops.
The World Food Program warned on Tuesday that yet another forced displacement of the Gaza residents who have been crammed into Rafah will further decrease “resilience” as the population is pushed toward starvation due to Israel’s near-total blockade on humanitarian aid.
More than 28,000 people have been killed by IDF attacks in Gaza since Oct. 7.
South Africa’s new filing at the ICJ came after King Abdullah II of Jordan reiterated his call for a cease-fire in Gaza in a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House. Officials from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt and Israel were in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss a possible truce.
Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams.
This article is from Common Dreams.
U.S. ….the new Nazis.
What a sad state of affairs: Bombed out of their dwellings… now Bombed in a simple tent encampment.
Can anyone else relate to: Mad Dogs?… !!!
Target for today. Women and Children – in their thousands. Blown to smithereens or simply starved to death. I have no words.
The attack on Rafah is blatant, premeditated murder, genocide and ethnic cleansing. I am so glad that South Africa has brought this urgently to the ICJ. It had to be. Whatever it was before, Israel is now like a rabid dog and there is no more reasoning with it. The world truly needs to stand up as one and the people who are enabling this genocide, Biden and co., for example, need to pay the same price that Israel must face. There are no statutes of limitation on this. Without a response, this will be future of humanity. None.
How utterly despicable…a nation (israel) that claims to be civilized and educated totally ignoring international law. But always ready with that annoying whining when others brake the law. Where is justice? When will the corrupt Anglo/Saxon world understand that, what is happening in Gaza, has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with anti semitism? It is pure racism.
Good for South Africa – at least they have some integrity which is more than I can say for America!
I had long concluded that Israel is ruled by Zionist Nazis. And a pushback was the typical response I got. But more and more people are starting to come to the same conclusion now.
Thanks to Israel’s behavior, the accusatory cudgel “anti-semitic” will lose its power to compel. Given its overuse and misuse of late, this is a development.
It seems to fall on the countries who’ve been there to take action. But all should. No one would want to experience what the Palestinians are experiencing. Thank you CN for helping us stay informed, and Julia. Sam Husseini is also doing a great job at this.
The little girl crying for her dead Father. Crying with her right now.