South Africa welcomes the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) ordering Israel to halt what it calls genocidal acts by its military in Gaza and ensure unhindered provision of urgently needed aid in the Palestinian enclave.
In a statement late Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said the ICC had granted South Africa’s request early this month for further provisional measures to prevent Israel from causing irreparable harm due to its ongoing siege on Gaza.
“The court ordered Israel to ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance,” the statement said.
The Jewish state was also ordered to immediately take all necessary measures to ensure, in cooperation with the United Nations, “the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” to Palestinians throughout Gaza.
It was also ordered to increase the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary, the statement said.
The court had noted that “Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, as noted in the Order of 26 January 2024, but that famine is setting in, with at least 31 people, including 27 children, having already died of malnutrition and dehydration”.
South Africa approached the ICJ on March 6 with “an urgent application for the provisional measures the court ordered on January 26 to be strengthened to prevent a catastrophic famine in the Gaza Strip.”
In its application, Pretoria noted that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “urgent” and there was need for the ICC to strengthen its January 26 provisional measures to prevent full-scale famine in the enclave.
The provisional measures of January 26 ordered Israel to, among other things, refrain from committing genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza and to prevent and punish direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip.
JN/APA