DUBLIN, December 11, 2024 (WAFA) – Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin Wednesday announced that his country would intervene in South Africa’s International Court of Justice case against Israel over the genocide in the Gaza Strip.
“The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin today secured government approval for Ireland to intervene in South Africa’s International Court of Justice case against Israel under the Genocide Convention,” the Irish Foreign Ministry said in a press statement.
The Irish Government gave approval for the move on Wednesday morning, as the filing of the intervention will take place at the UN's top court in The Hague later this month.
Following the Cabinet meeting, the Tánaiste said: “There has been a collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of military actions of Israel in Gaza, leaving 44,000 dead and millions of civilians displaced.”
“By legally intervening in South Africa’s case, Ireland will be asking the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a State.”
“We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized,” he added.
He stressed that his country’s “view of the Convention is broader and prioritises the protection of civilian life – as a committed supporter of the Convention, the government will promote that interpretation in its intervention in this case.”
“Intervening in both cases demonstrates the consistency of Ireland’s approach to the interpretation and application of the Genocide Convention,” he concluded.
On December 29, 2023, South Africa formally launched legal proceedings against Israel by submitting an application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in response to the ongoing, relentless Israeli genocide campaign against the Gaza Strip.
In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, six months after chief prosecutor Karim Khan requested them, marking the first instance in the court's 22-year history it has issued arrest warrants for western-allied senior officials.
Israel has proceeded with its genocidal offensive on the war-torn Strip in complete disregard of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered Israel in a legally binding decision to halt its military offensive in Rafah, which may violate its obligations under the Genocide Convention.
Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, killing at least of 44,805 Palestinians and injuring 106,257 others.
Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
K.F.
