South Africa has stepped up its attempts to end the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza by asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for further emergency measures in response to Israel’s present assault on the city of Rafah, according to a court statement issued on Friday.
This is the third time South Africa has asked for more action against Israel in relation to the Gaza War since its original application in December. Israel has vehemently refuted South Africa’s accusations of genocide against the Palestinian territory, sparking renewed tensions in the international arena.
In its most recent ICJ appeal, South Africa claims that Israel’s military operation in Rafah presents a “extreme risk” to humanitarian operations and key services in Gaza, notably the Palestinian medical infrastructure. The application further contends that Israel continues to violate the Genocide Convention and disregards international law.
The South African government calls upon the ICJ to intervene decisively, demanding that Israel immediately cease its military offensive in Rafah and grant unimpeded access to Gaza for humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations.
According to information from the Israeli government cited by Agence France-Presse, Israel launched its attack on Hamas on October 7 after Palestinian terrorists carried out unprecedented attacks that claimed a large number of lives, the most of them civilian.
The crisis has worsened, with extremists keeping captives and aggravating regional tensions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended the offensive as necessary to combat Hamas effectively. But with hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees living in appalling circumstances in Rafah, the situation there is still unstable and, should the fighting intensify, there are worries about a humanitarian catastrophe.
This most recent plea to the ICJ comes after South Africa has made earlier requests for action. In response to the country’s original request, the court had already urged Israel to refrain from committing crimes of genocide. The complicated political circumstances surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict are highlighted by the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) binding decisions without enforcement authority.
