South Africa submits its main legal claim to the top UN court which accuses Israel of genocide
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/10/2024 (409 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The South African legal team delivered a nearly 5,000-page document to the United Nations’ top court on Monday, the latest step in a case the country brought accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The document, which the International Court of Justice will not make public until a later stage in the proceedings, puts forth the “main case” that Israel has a “special intent to commit genocide,” according to a statement from South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Israel has fiercely denied the allegations. The government called the case “blood libel” when South Africa launched the complaint in Dec. 2023.
On Monday a court official at the ICJ confirmed that they had received the document.
The filing takes place as the Israeli military has called on Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, where it has been waging a large offensive for more than three weeks. The U.N. said earlier this month at least 400,000 people are still in northern Gaza and hunger is rampant as the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the north has plummeted over the past month.
The Hague-based court has so far issued three rounds of emergency measures, ordering Israel to halt a military offensive in Rafah and open more land crossings for aid into Gaza.
South Africa says Israel has refused to comply. “Israel’s continued shredding of international law has imperiled the institutions of global governance that were established to hold all states accountable,” the president’s statement said.
Palestine, Spain, Chile and seven other countries have petitioned the court to join the case.
Israel now has until July 2025 to reply.
Israel launched its military action in Gaza after Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023, attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.