Muhammad Ibrahim
South Africa started a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The lawsuit says that Israel did a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The application says that Israel broke its promises under the Convention on stopping and punishing genocide. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation in South Africa (DIRCO) said on Friday that the application was submitted. Israel swiftly rejected the filing “with disgust”. South Africa has also warned its people fighting with the Israeli army in Gaza they might get into trouble.
In a critical time when world peace is under attack, South Africa has shown that it’s strong and brave by quickly taking action against Israel. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s tough position against Israel comes from strong proof. He says that Israel is doing things in Gaza to completely kill off a big part of the Palestinian people based on their nationality and race. Pretoria’s choice to have the problem heard by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying Israel did genocide, is a brave move that echoes its own past battle against apartheid and unequal treatment. This simple situation demands not just disapproval from the global people, but also punishments towards Israel as they did very bad things against humanity.
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Since both South Africa and Israel have to follow what the world court says, this move is thought to be very important. At least it will put those who are blamed in focus for all people to see. The story shows 11 weeks where the city of Gaza was attacked for a long time. This attack caused over 21,000 people to die sadly including kids. Even though there is a big problem for people, important countries and human rights groups along with the United Nations don’t seem to be able to stop what some say is a planned killing of an entire nation by Israel.
The area under attack also struggles with not having enough help and medicine supplies. The news doesn’t like the UN Security Council’s weak plan. People think it tries to make everyone happy, but actually makes a fool of morals and what countries should do together for good reasons.
South Africa is seen as a great example for fighting for something important. The choice to shut down the Israeli embassy and stop diplomacy until a peace agreement was reached shows strong principles. Putting Israel on trial is shown as a smart and thought-out legal way to make that country responsible. Now, it’s up to international lawyers to make sure International Law helps people instead of being mixed with unfair country-centered thinking.
Author is Student of IR at National Defense University, Islamabad
