As Israel continues preparing for a feared ground offensive in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city, South Africa has said its actions show it is not complying with previous orders by the UN’s top court to prevent genocide in Palestine.
Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said her country is horrified at what has been happening to people in the enclave, including in the city of Rafah on its southern border with Egypt, as well as in the occupied West Bank.
“We believe this confirms the allegations we have tabled before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that genocide is underway in the occupied Palestinian territories and clearly the actions of the Israeli government prove that what we have said is actually accurate,” Pandor told reporters on the sidelines of the African Union Executive Council meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In late 2023, South Africa filed a case at the top UN court in The Hague, accusing Israel of failing to uphold its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
In its interim ruling in January, the court found South Africa’s claims plausible. It ordered Israel’s government to cease genocidal acts and to take steps to ensure that civilians in Gaza receive humanitarian assistance.
Now, international warnings are escalating regarding Israeli bombardment of the city of Rafah, amid preparations for a ground invasion.
“What is of great concern is that the world is allowing Israel to ignore the rulings of the International Court of Justice and no one is taking any measure to place a force in Palestine, that would be a peace enforcement force, to protect the innocent civilians who have caused no harm whatsoever to Israel,” Pandor said.
The top South African diplomat also condemned the killing of journalists in Palestine. “I can imagine if in Africa we had a conflict where over 170 journalists were killed. The whole world, all media, would be talking about this as a terrible infringement of human rights and freedom of expression by Africans. But when it’s Israeli forces, it seems it’s acceptable,” she said.
Pandor stressed that the killing of journalists should never have been tolerated anywhere in the world and that they should be allowed to operate freely and report accurately.
South Africa on Monday requested the ICJ to urgently assess Israel’s intentions in expanding its military presence in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, urging the court to consider whether it must use its power to prevent further breach of Palestinians’ rights.
Pretoria said it was “gravely concerned that 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.
This would be in serious and irreparable breach both of the Genocide Convention and of the Court’s Order of 26 January 2024.”