Palestine files ICJ application to intervene in South Africa v. Israel News
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Palestine files ICJ application to intervene in South Africa v. Israel

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) stated on Monday that the State of Palestine filed an application to intervene in South Africa v. Israel on Friday.

The application follows the State of Palestine’s formal declaration that it accepts the competence and jurisdiction of the ICJ through Security Council Resolution 9 (1946) and Article IX of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention). The declaration states that the ICJ has the competence to settle all disputes pursuant to the Genocide Convention, which Palestine acceded to in April this year.

The State of Palestine argued that it should be allowed to intervene in South Africa v. Israel under Article 62 of the Statute of the ICJ, which states that a state may request the ICJ to allow it to intervene in a case if it considers itself to have a legal interest in the decision of the case. The State of Palestine also invoked Article 63 of the Statute of the ICJ, which states that every state notified of a pending convention concerning them is permitted to intervene in the proceedings, subject to the judgment being equally binding upon it.

South Africa v. Israel was instituted when South Africa filed an application to the ICJ against Israel on December 29, 2023. South Africa alleged that Israel violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention concerning military actions against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. On February 16, the ICJ called on Israel to avoid actions that could lead to genocide and to facilitate humanitarian access for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, hostilities in Israel and Gaza resulted in more than 36,050 deaths and 81,026 injuries of Palestinians, and more than 1,200 deaths and 5,432 injuries of Israelis.

Previously on May 28, Israel announced that it was investigating the deaths of Palestinian detainees captured during the war in Gaza, as Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi appointed a committee to investigate the conditions of prisoners in Israeli military facilities. Israeli General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi said that Israel is “treating these allegations very seriously and is taking action to probe them.”

Correction: A previous version of this article erroneously stated that Palestine acceded to the Genocide Convention in April of 2024. Palestine acceded to the convention in April 2014.

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