South Africa asks ICJ to consider action on Israel’s Rafah assault

The South African government is requesting that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) consider an intervention in Israel’s announced military operations in Rafah.

Rafah, “which is the last refuge for surviving people in Gaza, requires that the court uses its power to prevent further imminent breach of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza”, South Africa’s presidency said on Tuesday.

South Africa is “gravely concerned that the unprecedented military offensive against Rafah, as announced by the State of Israel, has already led to and will result in further large scale killing, harm and destruction.”

According to the presidency, “this would be in serious and irreparable breach both of the Genocide Convention and of the Court’s Order of 26 January 2024.”

It cited ICJ rules that say the court can decide, when it so chooses, “whether the circumstances of the case require the indication of provisional measures which ought to be taken or complied with by any or all of the parties.”

In January, South Africa brought a case to the ICJ asking it to consider whether Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The court found that some of Israel’s acts appear capable of falling within the definition of genocide, but stopped short of ordering a halt to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.