‘State of Palestine’ applies to join S. Africa’s case at top U.N. court accusing Israel of genocide
THE HAGUE — Palestinian officials applied on behalf of the “State of Palestine†at the top U.N. court for permission to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
The request published Monday says that Israel’s ongoing military operation is “part of a systematic effort to wipe Palestinian society and its culture and social institutions from the map.†The request to the International Court of Justice was signed by Palestinian Authority foreign ministry official Ammar Hijazi.
South Africa filed its case with the world court late last year accusing Israel of breaching the genocide convention in its military assault that has laid waste to large swaths of Gaza. Israel denies it is committing genocide in its military operation to crush Hamas triggered by the deadly Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel.
The court has issued three preliminary orders in the case calling on Israel to do all it can to prevent deaths in the enclave, ramp up humanitarian aid and, most recently, halt its offensive in Rafah.
It is unclear how long the court’s judges will take to rule on the request. If granted, Palestinian officials will be able to address the court in writing and during public hearings.
In their request, the Palestinians said they are directly affected by the case.
Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas call on all parties to immediately accept a proposal detailed by President Biden to end the war in Gaza.
“The Israeli onslaught has obliterated and damaged, beyond recognition, Gaza’s hospitals, mosques, churches, universities, schools, homes, shops, and infrastructure, as part of a systematic effort to wipe Palestinian society and its culture and social institutions from the map,†the request says.
The request adds that, Israel is violating the court’s orders and continuing with “its genocidal acts including deliberately and systematically impeding humanitarian aid, resulting in an intentionally engineered situation of starvation and a creeping famine that is increasingly imminent.â€
The Palestinians have been to the court before. In 2018, the Palestinian Authority filed a case asking its judges to order Washington to remove the relocated U.S. embassy from Jerusalem. The case followed the decision of the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv.
That case remains before the court, where cases can take years to resolve.
Meanwhile in central Gaza, Israeli strikes killed 11 people overnight into Monday, including a woman and three children, Palestinian health officials said.
A strike on a home in the built-up Bureij refugee camp late Sunday killed four people, including the three children. A second strike early Monday killed seven people, including a woman, in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
President Biden says Hamas “no longer capable†of another major attack on Israel as he urges Israelis and Hamas to come to a Gaza cease-fire deal.
The bombardments come days after U.S. President Biden said Israel has offered Hamas a three-phase cease-fire and hostage release deal, declaring it was time to end the fighting in Gaza and that Hamas is “no longer capable†of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel.
Israel is expanding its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, once the main hub of humanitarian aid operations. The Israeli invasion has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians facing widespread hunger. Israel faces growing international criticism over the huge cost in civilian lives and the widespread destruction caused by its nearly eight-month war with Hamas.
Israeli bombardments and ground operations in the besieged territory have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.
On Monday, Israel confirmed the deaths of four more hostages, including three elderly men seen in a Hamas video begging for their release.
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