The International Court of Justice is set to convene in The Hague today, and the world is waiting to see if it will approve some or all of South Africa’s requests for provisional measures, such as ordering a ceasefire in Gaza. This comes after nearly two weeks of deliberations following South Africa’s accusations that the Israeli military operation in Gaza amounts to a state-led genocide, with well over 25,000 people killed directly by Israeli fire and many more injured, displaced, and stuck in famine conditions.
Telegram Correspondent
In a landmark moment for global justice, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will announce its ruling on South Africa’s request for emergency measures against Israel, which faces accusations of genocide at the World Court of state-led genocide for its military operation in Gaza.
This afternoon’s ruling will centre on a request for emergency measures to be put into place, even though South Africa’s case is accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a claim that the country has strongly denied.
One of the urgent interventions sought is the immediate cessation of Israel’s military operations, to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and for Israel to conduct investigations and prosecute possible violations.
South Africa has requested the court to issue nine injunctions, similar to restraining orders, while the court reviews the entire case, a process that could take a considerable amount of time.
The Israeli government expressed a confident and optimistic stance yesterday, saying it believed the World Court would rule in its favour.
“We expect the ICJ to throw out these spurious and specious charges,” Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levy told a press conference.
At the beginning of this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boldly told the world that; “No one will stop us, not The Hague, not the axis of evil and no one else.”
Netanyahu was alluding to the Iran-aligned groups known as the “axis of resistance” operating in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
Two weeks ago, South Africa argued that Israel’s aerial and ground offensive intended to result in “the destruction of the population of Gaza”.
However, Israel refuted the allegations, asserting its adherence to international law and its right to self-defence.
The 17-member judicial panel will deliberate solely on the determination of whether to implement interim measures and whether there exists a credible possibility that Israel’s actions may contravene the provisions of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
The court will hand down its ruling at 1 pm in a hearing expected to last about an hour.