Israel-Palestine Escalation
Israel was hit by an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, with Hamas movement's troops infiltrating border areas. On October 8, the Israeli government announced that it had invoked Article 40 of the Basic Law, which means the country was officially in a state of war.

South Africa Seeks Speedy Decision by International Court of Justice to End Hostilities in Gaza

© AP Photo / Fatima ShbairA bulldozer unloads the bodies of Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel and turned over by the Israeli military during a mass funeral in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.
A bulldozer unloads the bodies of Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel and turned over by the Israeli military during a mass funeral in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.  - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 07.01.2024
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In late December, South Africa filed a complaint against Israel with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the Genocide Convention, asking the court to issue provisional measures against the state for its actions in the Gaza Strip, where local authorities say Israeli attacks have been killed nearly 23,000 Palestinians.
South Africa is confident that it has presented the UN International Court of Justice with a compelling case against Israel that can lead to an immediate cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, said Ronald Lamola, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services of South Africa.

"What the South African legal team will be requesting the ICJ [to do is] to issue an injunction that will enable them to stop the state of Israel [from] continuing the genocide. And the substantive matters will be dealt with at a later stage," Lamola told reporters on Sunday. "But an urgent one is to stop the genocide, which is a principal position, and also to ensure that we restore respect for the rule of law."

The logo of the International Court of Justice, left, and that of the UN, right. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 02.01.2024
Israel-Palestine Escalation
Israel Will Appear Before ICJ to Refute South Africa's Legal Claim on Gaza Situation
On December 29, South Africa filed a complaint with the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding Israel's actions in the Palestinian Gaza Strip and its possible violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, also known as the Genocide Convention.
The lawsuit asks the ICJ to declare as a matter of urgency that Israel, in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention, must immediately cease all actions that violate that instrument and its obligations thereunder.
The first hearings in the South African case against Israel will begin in The Hague on January 11. They will be devoted to determining the format of the public debate. According to South African legal sources, the South African representatives will first seek an immediate order from the Court as an interim measure to cease all armed action by Israel in the Gaza Strip. After that, South African lawyers are prepared to pursue the merits of the case.
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