{"id":89596,"date":"2024-01-11T04:51:18","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T04:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.estaql.com\/international-court-set-to-hear-genocide-case-against-israel-but-what-does-it-mean-and-what-could-happen-world-news\/"},"modified":"2024-01-11T04:51:18","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T04:51:18","slug":"international-court-set-to-hear-genocide-case-against-israel-but-what-does-it-mean-and-what-could-happen-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/international-court-set-to-hear-genocide-case-against-israel-but-what-does-it-mean-and-what-could-happen-world-news\/","title":{"rendered":"International court set to hear genocide case against Israel – but what does it mean and what could happen? | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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International court set to hear genocide case against Israel – but what does it mean and what could happen? | World News<\/h2>\n

International court set to hear genocide case against Israel – but what does it mean and what could happen? | World News<\/p>\n

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The International Court of Justice in the Hague is best thought of as the United Nation’s court or, in simpler terms, the world’s court.<\/p>\n

It was set up as a branch of the UN to settle disputes between states and to give advisory opinions on matters of international law.<\/p>\n

The UN is made up of member states. If they have disagreements, it is the court’s job to resolve them and pronounce judgment.<\/p>\n

It has 15 judges elected from member states by the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council.<\/p>\n

Israel-Hamas war live: Follow for the latest updates<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\n A general view of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague
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Is that the right place to bring a case about genocide?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not necessarily, and that is part of what judges must decide.<\/p>\n

The court is more used to considering disputes over land, boundaries, and sovereignty, between two member nations<\/p>\n

However, it has considered allegations of genocide before.<\/p>\n

Ukraine accused Russia of the crime<\/strong> in its invasion in 2022.<\/p>\n

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Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n

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What is genocide?<\/span>
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But this is South Africa, a third-party country bringing a case about Israel<\/strong><\/p>\n

A precedent has been set for that as well.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Gambia brought a case against Myanmar<\/strong>, alleging it had committed genocidal acts against the Rohingya people.<\/p>\n

The ICJ is expected to decide whether it does have jurisdiction in this new case being brought by South Africa<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Why is South Africa bringing this case? <\/strong><\/p>\n

South Africa says it is doing so because it is horrified by Israel’s conduct during this war and it must stop.<\/p>\n

It hopes not least for an interim ruling that will demand a ceasefire.<\/p>\n

But Israel says it is acting for political reasons.<\/p>\n

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\n Demonstrators in support of Palestinians march across the Mandela Bridge, in downtown Johannesburg. Pic: AP
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The South African ruling party – the ANC – has long been a close supporter of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and South Africa sees the Gaza conflict as a colonial war with echoes of their own past conflict.<\/p>\n

Israel says that is misleading nonsense.<\/p>\n

Does South Africa have a case?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The South African case is that Israel has violated the Genocide Convention, to which it is a signatory.<\/p>\n

It cites the huge number of Palestinians<\/strong> <\/strong>killed by Israel, and the deliberate restriction on supplies of water, food, fuel and medical supplies imposed by Israel.<\/p>\n

And most worryingly for Israel, the inflammatory statements made by senior Israeli officials during the war dehumanising Palestinians and, the South Africans believe, inciting genocide.<\/p>\n

What does Israel say in its defence?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Israeli legal team is not saying much for now, saving it for the court.<\/p>\n

But supporters and legal experts say there was no explicit command or programme of action conceived and executed to carry out a genocide – namely the destruction of an entire people.<\/p>\n

And they say they have taken measures to avoid civilian casualties, which would be perverse if they were planning to wipe them all out.<\/p>\n

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Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n

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\n 1:13<\/span>
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Daily toll on civilians in Gaza ‘far too high’, says Antony Blinken<\/span>
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Who is likely to win?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genocide is one of the hardest allegations to prove in a court of law.<\/p>\n

It requires a very high bar of proof.<\/p>\n

Destroying an entire race or people requires the resources of a state.<\/p>\n

South Africa must show that the government of Israel planned the annihilation of the people of Gaza, ordered it, and set in motion actions to achieve it.<\/p>\n

Joining the dots between some inflammatory rhetoric and a lot of people dying will most likely not be enough.<\/p>\n

So Israel has nothing to worry about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not necessarily.<\/p>\n

It is fair to say that even if the court decides it has the jurisdiction to consider the case, reaching a firm conclusion either way will most likely take years.<\/p>\n

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\n Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, seek shelter near the border with Egypt, in Rafah<\/p>\n

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But it can also make an interim judgement, and for that, the bar is much lower.<\/p>\n

South Africa must only prove it is “plausible” that Israel plotted genocide.<\/p>\n

For that to stick, the official statements, supply restrictions, and the extraordinary number of dead civilians may be enough.<\/p>\n

And what would an interim judgment against Israel mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The court could then order action.<\/p>\n

That could range from a demand Israel stop its inflammatory rhetoric, to an order that it ceases all military action until the case has been fully considered.<\/p>\n

Read more from Sky News:
Gaza residents tell of desperate need for more food
British warship did ‘exactly what it was designed for’ to repel Houthi attack<\/strong><\/p>\n

That would put Israel and its backers, the US, in a bind, because they believe the war must go on until Hamas is dismantled.<\/p>\n

Would Israel have to comply?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Both America and Russia have ignored ICJ rulings against them in the past.<\/p>\n

Israel may try to do the same.<\/p>\n

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Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n

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\n 1:22<\/span>
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Netanyahu vows to achieve war objectives<\/span>
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But it would be hard for Israel to continue a war in the teeth of a ruling handed down by a universally recognised court.<\/p>\n

And it would still have to live with a reputation tainted by allegations of one of the worst possible crimes.<\/p>\n

For a country established in the wake of a genocide against its own people, that would be a very bitter outcome indeed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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International court set to hear genocide case against Israel – but what does it mean and what could happen? | World News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

International court set to hear genocide case against Israel – but what does it mean and what could happen? | World News International court set to hear genocide case against Israel – but what does it mean and what could happen? | World News The International Court of Justice in the Hague is best thought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7711],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7711"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89596\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}