jordan pulse -
In a decision that could amount to “delegitimizing Israel”, the world is awaiting the outcome of the upcoming session at the International Court of Justice, which will hear from Thursday a South African lawsuit accusing Israel of committing crimes of “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
Condemning Israel?
International law professor Anis al-Qassem told Al-Mamlaka that if the International Court of Justice convicts Israel of committing crimes of “genocide” against the people of the Gaza Strip and its institutions, Tel Aviv will be forced to compensate for material and moral damage.
Al-Qassem added that Israel’s failure to abide by the court’s decision and reject it will provoke international outrage, because it has signed the Genocide Convention related to the court, as well as the charter of the international court, and must abide by its decisions.
“If Israel insists on not obeying the court’s decision, South Africa can go to the UN Security Council, which will review the situation and decide that Israel must comply with the decisions of the ICC as the highest judicial authority in the world and an integral part of the United Nations,” al-Qassem said.
If the United States uses its veto power in the Security Council, South Africa could turn to the UN General Assembly to ask it to pass resolutions that “delegitimize Israel, such as withdrawing ambassadors, withdrawing diplomatic recognitions, and boycotting it commercially, materially, practically , economically and to prevent Israeli aviation from entering its airspace, which means isolating it from the world."
He pointed out that the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide punishes the perpetrator (Israel) and the instigator (referring to the United States), explaining that the court's decision, if issued, Israel must abide by it as a party to this Convention and to the Charter of the United Nations.He pointed out that the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel only.
Case to follow up
With regard to the decision of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004, in which it affirmed that the apartheid wall is “contrary to international law”.
In its decision, which later became known as the Hague Advisory Opinion, and was supported by 14 votes to 1 against, the court demanded that Israel halt the construction of the wall, demolish what had been built, and pay compensation to those whose property, land and farms were damaged according to the route of the wall.
In this regard, Al-Qassem urged the Palestinian Authority to follow up on the case and the verdict issued because the responsibility of the Israeli occupation authorities still exists as a “war crime and has no statute of limitations.”
On December 29, South Africa submitted an 84-page request to the International Court of Justice to initiate proceedings against Israel, asserting that "Israel's actions and omissions are of a genocidal character because they are accompanied by the specific intention required to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza as part of the broader national, racial and ethnic group, the Palestinians," the International Court of Justice said in a statement.
The lawsuit also notes that Israel’s conduct “through state organs, state agents, and other persons and entities acting at its instructions or under its direction, control, or influence” constitutes a violation of its obligations to Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention.
The lawsuit also stated that Israel “failed to prevent genocide and failed to prosecute direct and public incitement to genocide.”
South Africa asked the court to issue an urgent order declaring Israel to be in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
According to the United Nations, the Genocide Convention remains of great importance, as the Convention first codified the crime of genocide in international law.
Jordan is the first country to announce its support for the lawsuit filed by South Africa, as Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh confirmed on Wednesday that the Kingdom will provide the necessary legal readings and pleadings as soon as the International Court considers the genocide in Gaza.