South Africa's genocide case against Israel set to begin at The Hague - CNA

DEFENCE AND RESPONSE

Visiting Professor at University of Minnesota’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Melanie O'Brien said that South Africa has a good argument at this stage and that it is likely the ICJ will order some kind of measure that Israel should comply with. 

“The extent of those (measures) remain to be seen, because what Israel can argue is that their actions are being carried out in the course of an armed conflict against a non-state armed group,” she told CNA’s Asia First on Thursday (Jan 11). 

She noted that the case is “an extremely complex one” and not as straightforward as others.

“There's a lot of discussion amongst lawyers at the moment about, particularly, the need to prove genocide. You need to prove what's called a ‘special intent’ and that's the intent to destroy the group,” she said. In the present Convention, genocide refers to acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. 

“In this case, South Africa is arguing that Israel has an intent to destroy Palestinians, or at least a substantial part of the Palestinian population. And that's really difficult to prove,” Prof O'Brien added. 

Once the arguments are heard, the court will reach a decision on the provisional measures in a matter of weeks. However, even if it orders such measures, it does not necessarily mean Israeli military action will stop.

The ICJ’s orders would be legally binding but enforcing them will be up to the United Nations Security Council, where the United States can block any enforcement action. 

The US, which has been supporting Israel with aid, last month vetoed a UN resolution backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

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2024-01-11 05:12:00Z
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