- South Africa accuses Israel of "genocidal acts" in Gaza.
- The case seeks an interim order to halt Israel's military operations in Gaza.
- Indonesian civil society organizations and activists support the case.
South Africa, in its filing, alleges that Israel has been and continues to engage in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza, violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention. The case requests the court to issue an interim order mandating Israel to immediately halt its military operations in Gaza. A hearing for this request is anticipated in the coming days or weeks. While the overall case may extend over years, an interim order could be issued within weeks.
Pretoria can bring this case under the Genocide Convention, as both South Africa and Tel Aviv are signatories to it.
South Africans liken their struggle against apartheid to the Palestinian cause. Similarly, Indonesia is also a staunch supporter of Palestine, with its people and government seeing Palestinian statehood as mandated by the nation’s constitution, which calls for the abolition of colonialism.
“We support South Africa’s move to drag Israel to the International Court of Justice,” Dr. Sarbini Murad, chairman of the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, told the source.
MER-C funded:
The Jakarta-based organization MER-C funded the development of the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza. Israel's latest bombardments of the besieged strip, which began in early October, have damaged the facility, resulting in nearly 22,000 deaths and over 57,000 injuries.“Israel must be taken to the ICJ because what Israel is doing is genocide. (The) ICJ must act bravely and firmly, without fear even under pressure from Israel through the United States,” Murad said. “We hope that the war will end and peace will come for Palestine.”
Jama’ah Muslimin, a Muslim organization based in West Java, also voiced its support for South Africa, calling the case launch “brilliant and courageous.”
“(Jama’ah Muslimin) calls on other countries, like Indonesia, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries, Arab countries especially, all member states of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) and the UN to support and push for the international court to put Israel on trial to stop its crime of genocide in Palestine,” the organization said in a statement.
Though the World Court’s orders are legally binding, they are not always followed as the court has no means of enforcing its decisions.
“Israel has gone beyond the limits of humane reason, and as such we fully support South Africa and hope that the international court will take urgent steps to stop the mass genocide that Israeli forces are doing on the occupied Palestinian territory,” Cecep Jasim, who coordinated a thousand-strong march for Gaza in West Java in late November, told the news channel.
“This is another sliver of hope for us, as concrete steps from other countries in support of Palestine will surely add power to the movement to create freedom and independence for Palestinians.”
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