Palestinians will join South Africa’s genocide process against Israel

The Palestinians plan to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Ramallah has requested to join the case, the court in The Hague announced on Monday night.

The ministry requested this on behalf of Palestine, which is not yet recognized as a state by the United Nations; instead, it has observer status at the UN.

It is unclear when the court will rule on the Palestinian request. If approved, Palestinian authorities would be authorized to actively participate in the process. Other countries have also signaled their intention to join South Africa’s process. These include Colombia, Libya and Nicaragua.

South Africa filed a complaint against Israel with the United Nations’ highest court in late 2023, accusing the state of violating the Genocide Convention due to its attacks on the Gaza Strip. In three rulings to date, the court has forced Israel to take immediate action to protect civilians.

However, the main case concerning the accusation of genocide is not affected by this situation. This could drag on for years.

Israel has strongly rejected the accusations and invokes its right to self-defense following the terrorist attack carried out by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and other groups on October 7. Around 1,200 people were murdered in the attack.

According to Palestinian authorities, more than 36,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks since then.