THE HAGUE (Dispatches) – The occupying regime of Israel, on Thursday, will for the first time in its history find itself in the dock in the International Court of Justice in The Hague — charged with genocide.
The allegations that Israel is committing genocide in the war in Gaza, meaning intentionally murdering Palestinian civilians are extremely serious and even an interim ruling against the occupying regime could have a severe impact on its international status, with potentially dire diplomatic and political consequences.
The application to the ICJ by South Africa alleges that Israel has violated the Genocide Convention, to which it is a signatory. It cites the large number of Palestinian civilians killed during the war, and the severely reduced access to food, water, and medical care of the Gazan population, which South Africa says are the result of a planned Israeli effort to commit genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Although a final ruling will likely take years, South Africa has requested the court issue provisional orders against the occupying regime that could range from demanding a total and immediate ceasefire — which Israel and the U.S. firmly oppose — to insisting that more humanitarian aid be allowed in.
But it would be the interim ruling itself, that there is even plausibility to South Africa’s allegations, that would be the most damaging to Israel’s standing.
The bar to establish plausibility of genocidal actions is much lower than a final definitive determination, and this puts the Zionist regime in significant potential peril. For a start, it would certainly be more challenging for the U.S., or any other country inclined to stand with Israel, to do so if the ICJ determines Israel might be committing genocide.
South Africa’s application to the ICJ states that Israel has violated several articles of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide — to which Israel is signatory — during the war, including committing genocide, incitement to genocide, attempted genocide and failure to punish incitement to genocide.
It says that 70 percent of Gazan casualties are women and children, and details the heavy aerial bombardment of Gaza conducted by the Israeli air force and its use of large and sometimes unguided bombs.
It also points to “reports of unarmed people… being shot dead on sight,” noting the incident in December in which three Zionist captives who managed to escape were mistakenly shot dead by Israel forces even though they were waving white flags.

The document also details Gazans’ reduced access to food, water, and medical treatment as a result of the war and Israeli policies regarding the entry of such items, and fuel, into the Gaza Strip.
And it lays out what it sees as highly problematic comments by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, war minister Yoav Gallant, finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, all of whom are members of the critical war cabinet which makes policy decisions on the prosecution of the war. The application states that these comments either dehumanized Palestinians, threatened indiscriminate attacks on Gaza or could be understood as threatening Gazan civilians.
“The acts and omissions by Israel complained of by South Africa are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group,” the application charges.
More countries joined South Africa ahead of the hearing. The Maldives, Namibia, and Pakistan expressed their support for the lawsuit during a United Nations General Assembly session on Tuesday.
Other countries that have already expressed support for the case include Bolivia, Jordan, Malaysia, and Turkey.