South Africa Requests IJC to Consider Israeli Attacks on Rafah

Havana, Feb 13 (ACN) The South African government filed an urgent request on Tuesday with the International Justice Court (IJC) on Israel’s decision to keep with its military operations in the city of Rafah.

The South African Government has made an urgent request https://shorturl.at/clLT7 to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to consider whether the decision announced by Israel to extend its military operations in Rafah, which is the last refuge for surviving people in Gaza, requires that the court uses its power to prevent further imminent breach of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza. http://tinyurl.com/3afw2ms2

The South African requests cited section 1 in article 75th of the Court Rules which states that the court “may decide at any time to consider, motu proprio, if current circumstances require additional provisions to be met by any or all parties.”

The South African government said to be seriously concerned because the unprecedented Israeli military offensive on Rafah has caused or will caused more death, damage and large-scale destruction, Telesur TV reported.

According to Pretoria, this would be a serious and irreparable violation of the Convention on Genocide and the Court’s Order issued on January 26, 2024.

South Africa requested that the Court should rule if the announcement by Israel to launch a land offensive on Rafah—current shelter for 1.4 million Palestinians who escaped the violence—represents “an additional measure of imminent violation of the Palestinians’ human rights in Gaza.”

Last month, the International Court issued a preliminary ruling, linked to the South African case, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The ruling ordered Israel to take all possible measures to avoid the killing of Palestinian civilians.

The South African move takes place as Israel and Hamas are advancing towards an accord on a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the area devastated by the war, while the two parties were still holding talks in the Egyptian capital on Tuesday.