<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-top-anchor"></div>
<div id="gmail-toolbar" class="gmail-toolbar-container">
</div><div class="gmail-container" lang="en-US" dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-header gmail-reader-header gmail-reader-show-element">
<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israeli-officials-fear-icj-could-charge-israel-with-genocide-in-gaza-reports/">palestinechronicle.com</a>
<div class="gmail-domain-border"></div>
<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Israeli Officials Fear ICJ Could Charge Israel with Genocide in Gaza <br></h1>January 1, 2024</div>
<hr>
<div class="gmail-content">
<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div>
<img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ICJ-678x455.png" alt="" title="ICJ" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="391" height="262" style="margin-right: 25px;">
The Hague-based International Court of Justice. (Photo: ICJ website)
<p><strong>By <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/palestine-chronicle-staff" title="Display all articles for Palestine Chronicle Staff">Palestine Chronicle Staff</a></strong> </p>
<blockquote>
<h3><span>Israeli officials are concerned that the Hague-based
International Court of Justice (ICJ) will charge Israel with genocide in
Gaza, Israeli media reported. </span></h3>
</blockquote>
<p><span>According to the Israeli newspaper <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-01/ty-article/.premium/state-officials-fear-hauge-could-charge-israel-with-genocide-in-gaza/0000018c-c1a9-d3e0-abac-d9a9acd80000">Haaretz</a>,
“a senior legal expert dealing with the matter has in recent days
warned IDF brass, including Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi, that there is
real danger that the court will issue an injunction calling on Israel to
halt its fire, noting that Israel is bound by the court’s rulings”.</span></p>
<p><span>Unlike the International Criminal Court (ICC), which pursues
private individuals, the International Criminal Justice settles legal
disputes between states. </span></p>
<p>The Court’s <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/how-the-court-works#:~:text=The%20judgment%20is%20final%2C%20binding,an%20opinion%20to%20the%20judgment.">judgment</a> is “final, binding on the parties to a case and without appeal”.</p>
<p><span>The appeal to the court was filed by South Africa on December
29. It accused Israel of “indiscriminate use of force and forcible
removal of residents,” stating that Israeli actions in the besieged Gaza
Strip constitute “crimes against humanity and war crimes.”</span></p>
<p><span>“South Africa has requested that the court discuss the matter
in the coming days and issue a temporary injunction against Israel that
calls for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip,” Haaretz reported.</span></p>
<p><span>Prof. Eliav Lieblich, an expert on international law at Tel
Aviv University, told Haaretz that South Africa’s complaints should be
taken seriously. </span></p>
<p><span>“Extremist statements by senior Israeli officials could be seen
as evidence of an intent to harm Gaza’s civilian population,” Haaretz
mentioned Lieblich as saying.</span></p>
<p><span>“In general, it’s hard to prove an intention of genocide
because no public statements to that effect are made during the
fighting,” he explained, according to Haaretz. </span></p>
<blockquote><p><span>“But these irresponsible statements about erasing Gaza will require Israel to explain why they don’t reflect such an intention.”</span></p></blockquote>
<p><b>South Africa’s Application</b></p>
<p><span>The application filed by Pretoria “alleged violations by Israel
of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in relation to Palestinians in the
Gaza Strip,” the ICJ said in a press release on December 29.</span></p>
<p><span>“Acts and omissions by Israel … are genocidal in character, as
they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy
Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national,
racial and ethnical group,” the statement read.</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">AL-JAZEERA: The death toll from Israel's bombing of a house in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip rose to 15.</p>
<p>FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG:<a href="https://t.co/vg666rWClW">https://t.co/vg666rWClW</a> <a href="https://t.co/HmezcU8iPZ">pic.twitter.com/HmezcU8iPZ</a></p>
<p>— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) <a href="https://twitter.com/PalestineChron/status/1741868034451496981?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><span>“The conduct of Israel – through its State organs, State
agents, and other persons and entities acting on its instructions or
under its direction, control or influence – in relation to Palestinians
in Gaza, is in violation of its obligations under the Genocide
Convention,” the statement added, citing the application.</span></p>
<p><span>South Africa also accused Israel of “failing to prevent
genocide” and “prosecuting the direct and public incitement to genocide”
in the application.</span></p>
<p><span>“Israel has engaged in, is engaging in and risks further
engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” the
African country reportedly said.</span></p>
<p><span>According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 21,978 Palestinians
have been killed, and 57,697 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in
Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say
that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.</span></p>
<p><em>(The Palestine Chronicle)</em></p>
</div></div></div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div></div>
</div>
</div>