Israel faces accusations that it is subjecting Palestinians in Gaza to genocidal acts, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) commenced a hearing on South Africa’s genocide case against it on Thursday. Adila Hassim, a lawyer representing South Africa, told the ICJ that Israel had breached Article II of the Genocide Convention, which included the “mass killing” of Palestinians in Gaza. Alanna O’Malley, a professor of UN and international history, told Al Jazeera that South Africa’s case was a “historic” one. “We see from the invocation of the various articles of the Genocide Convention by the South African legal team the ways in which they are going to structurally present this case,” she said outside the court in The Hague, calling it “extremely compelling”. Also called the World Court, the ICJ is the highest UN legal body that can adjudicate issues between member states.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
