South Africa asks World Court to consider Israel’s Rafah attack

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa on Tuesday asked the World Court to consider whether Israel’s plan to extend its offensive in Gaza to the city of Rafah requires additional emergency measures to protect Palestinian rights. It was announced that.

Last month, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in a case brought by South Africa, ordered Israel to take all steps possible to stop its forces from committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israel denies all allegations of genocide related to its war with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and has asked the court to dismiss the case completely, saying it has the right to respect international law and defend itself. Ta.

Israel plans to expand ground attacks on Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians have fled from attacks that have devastated large parts of the Gaza Strip since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7 It was announced that.

“In a request filed with the court yesterday (February 12), the South African government stated that the unprecedented military attack on Rafah announced by the State of Israel has already caused extensive damage and that it will continue to do so. “We are gravely concerned that this could result in widespread killing, harm and destruction,” South Africa’s president’s office said in a statement.

“This would be a serious and irreversible violation of both the Genocide Convention and the January 26 court order.”

The Hague-based ICJ declined to comment on whether it had received the request.

In past cases, the ICJ has sometimes approved additional emergency measures when the situation on the ground has changed.

The court has not yet ruled on the core of South Africa’s case: whether genocide occurred in Gaza. However, it recognized the right of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to be protected from genocide.

(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Additional reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Alexander Winning and Mark Heinrich)

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