4. The facts relied on by South Africa in this application and to be further developed in these
proceedings establish that — against a background of apartheid, expulsion, ethnic cleansing, annexation,
occupation, discrimination, and the ongoing denial of the right of the Palestinian people to self-
determination — Israel, since 7 October 2023 in particular, has failed to prevent genocide and has failed
to prosecute the direct and public incitement to genocide. More gravely still, Israel has engaged in, is
engaging in and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Those
acts include killing them, causing them serious mental and bodily harm and deliberately inflicting on
them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction as a group. Repeated
statements by Israeli State representatives, including at the highest levels, by the Israeli President, Prime
Minister, and Minister of Defence express genocidal intent. That intent is also properly to be inferred
from the nature and conduct of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, having regard inter alia to Israel’s
failure to provide or ensure essential food, water, medicine, fuel, shelter and other humanitarian
assistance for the besieged and blockaded Palestinian people, which has pushed them to the brink of
famine. It is also clear from the nature, scope and extent of Israel’s military attacks on Gaza, which have
involved the sustained bombardment over more than 11 weeks of one of the most densely populated
places in the world, forcing the evacuation of 1.9 million people or 85% of the population of Gaza from
their homes and herding them into ever smaller areas, without adequate shelter, in which they continue
to be attacked, killed and harmed. Israel has now killed in excess of 21,110 named Palestinians,
including over 7,729 children — with over 7,780 others missing, presumed dead under the rubble —
and has injured over 55,243 other Palestinians, causing them severe bodily and mental harm. Israel has
also laid waste to vast areas of Gaza, including entire neighbourhoods, and has damaged or destroyed
in excess of 355,000 Palestinian homes, alongside extensive tracts of agricultural land, bakeries, schools,
universities, businesses, places of worship, cemeteries, cultural and archaeological sites, municipal and
court buildings, and critical infrastructure, including water and sanitation facilities and electricity
networks, while pursuing a relentless assault on the Palestinian medical and healthcare system. Israel
has reduced and is continuing to reduce Gaza to rubble, killing, harming and destroying its people, and
creating conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction as a group.
Public Statement: Scholars support South Africa’s submission
to the International Court of Justice against Israel
for violations of the 1948 Genocide Convention
January 9, 2024
The Republic of South Africa initiated proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on December 29, 2023, against the State of Israel, asking the court to recommend provisional measures to stop Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people. The Israeli government declared on January 2, 2024, that it would appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The application, brought under Article IX of the 1948 Genocide Convention, states that Israel “intends to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial, and ethnic group, that being the part of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip.” The first hearing is scheduled for January 11 and 12, 2024.
As scholars and practitioners of international law, genocide studies, and international studies, and cognate fields relating to global justice, we wholeheartedly support South Africa’s application to the ICJ as a step towards a necessary ceasefire in Gaza and justice in Palestine. We recall the statement published on October 15, 2023, sounding the alarm of a potential genocide in Gaza, signed by over 800 scholars of international law and genocide studies.
South Africa’s application provides a comprehensive account of widespread international agreement regarding Israel’s genocidal conduct in Gaza. The application reiterates statements made by the UN Secretary-General, who has described Gaza as a “crisis of humanity” and a “graveyard for children” in his invocation of Article 99 of the UN Charter. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has also raised “serious concerns regarding the obligation of Israel and other State parties to prevent crimes against humanity and genocide,” citing the dehumanising rhetoric targeted at Palestinians since October 7, 2023.