The Hague (QNN)- Iceland and the Netherlands filed declarations to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday. This brings the number of countries seeking to participate in the proceedings to 18 as Israel continues its genocidal war in Gaza despite the so-called ceasefire.
Both states filed declarations under Article 63 of the court’s statute, which allows countries that are parties to a treaty at issue in a case to intervene in order to present their interpretation of that treaty.
The case, brought by South Africa in December 2023, accuses Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention through its assault on Gaza since October 2023.
Israel has so far killed over 72,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children.
South Africa argues that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide, including through killing Palestinians, causing serious bodily or mental harm and imposing conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s destruction.
A UN commission of inquiry also concluded last September that Israel has committed genocide (the gravest crime under international law) in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
On Thursday, Israel is scheduled to submit its counter-memorial, or arguments in response to South Africa's filings, after several deadline extensions by the court. The court has yet to announce that Israel has filed its evidence, however.
The new interventions by Iceland and the Netherlands come as a growing number of states seek to weigh in on the interpretation of the Genocide Convention in the case.
Under Article 63, interventions have already been filed by Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, Turkey, Chile, the Maldives, Bolivia, Ireland, Cuba, Belize, Brazil, the Comoros, Belgium and Paraguay.
In its declaration, Iceland said the Convention must be interpreted in a way that supports its fundamental aim of preventing and punishing genocide. It argued that genocidal intent can often be inferred from patterns of conduct rather than direct evidence.
Iceland also said the court should consider whether actions such as deprivation of food, shelter or medical care could constitute conditions of life intended to destroy a protected group, and emphasised the particular vulnerability of children in assessing serious bodily or mental harm.
The Netherlands, in its filing, said the court should take into account patterns of conduct and circumstantial evidence when determining genocidal intent. It also argued that forced displacement and the withholding of humanitarian aid could, depending on the circumstances, contribute to acts prohibited under the Convention.
Both countries stressed that their interventions were limited to questions of treaty interpretation and did not address the factual allegations in the case.
The proceedings are one of the most closely watched disputes ever heard by the ICJ and have drawn an unusually large number of third-state interventions. The court has already ordered Israel in binding provisional measures to take steps to prevent acts that breach the Convention and to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, while stopping short of ordering a ceasefire. Israel has been accused of repeatedly violating the court's orders.
A final ruling on whether Israel has breached the Genocide Convention could take until 2028, according to reports.
This comes as Israel continues to violate the so-called ceasefire agreement brokered by the US, killing hundreds of Palestinians and blocking the entry of much-needed aid to the enclave.
