Current:Home > ScamsThe top UN court is set to issue a preliminary ruling in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel -ProfitLogic
The top UN court is set to issue a preliminary ruling in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel
View
Date:2025-04-13 19:18:18
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Israel is set to hear Friday whether the United Nations’ top court will order it to end its military offensive in Gaza in a provisional ruling while the panel hears a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide.
The International Court of Justice’s president, Joan E. Donoghue, will read out the highly anticipated decision taken by a panel of 17 judges.
The ruling comes at an early stage in South Africa’s case alleging that Israel’s military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. Israel vehemently rejects the accusation and has asked the court to throw out the case.
South Africa has asked the judges “as a matter of extreme urgency” to impose so-called provisional measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza while the case proceeds slowly through the court, a process likely to take years.
Top of the South African list is a request for the court to order Israel to “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.”
Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said Thursday that Israel expects the court to toss out the case.
“We expect the ICJ to throw out these spurious and specious charges,” he said.
An Israeli official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled with top legal, diplomatic and security officials on Thursday in anticipation of the ruling. He said israel is confident in its case but discussed “all scenarios.” Israel’s war cabinet was meeting later Thursday as well. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing confidential meetings.
Marieke de Hoon, an associate professor of international law at the University of Amsterdam, said she doesn’t think the court will end the case Friday because the legal bar South Africa has to clear at this early stage in proceedings is lower than if the court decides to rule on the merits of the claim.
“The standard ... is not, has there been genocide? But a lower standard,” she said. “Is it plausible that there could have been a risk of genocide that would invoke Israel’s responsibility to prevent genocide?”
But De Hoon also does not expect the world court to order an end to Israel’s military operation.
“I think that they will shy away from actually calling for a full ceasefire, because I think they will find that beyond their abilities right now,” she said in a telephone interview.
Provisional measures by the world court are legally binding, but it is not clear if Israel would comply with any orders the court might make.
European Union foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano said the 27-nation bloc’s position is clear: “We respect the ICJ and we are of the opinion that the verdicts and decisions of the ICJ should be respected. This is the highest UN court.”
Israel launched its massive air and ground assault on Gaza soon after Hamas militants stormed through Israeli communities on Oct. 7 killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and abducting another 250.
Netanyahu has vowed to fight on until his country achieves a “complete victory” over Hamas.
The offensive has come at a high humanitarian cost for Gaza residents. The area’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed at least 25,900 people — the majority women and children — and wounded another 64,000 as of Thursday afternoon. Its count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The Israeli military claims at least 9,000 of those killed are Hamas militants.
U.N. officials have expressed fears that even more people could die from disease, with at least one-quarter of the population facing starvation.
Israel’s military onslaught has driven nearly 85% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes. Much of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, has been reduced to rubble.
The case strikes at the national identity of Israel, which was founded as a Jewish state after the Nazi slaughter of 6 million Jews during World War II.
South Africa’s own identity is key to it bringing the case. Its governing party, the African National Congress, has long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Black people to “homelands” before ending in 1994.
___
Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
veryGood! (85342)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Celine Dion talks accepting stiff person syndrome diagnosis, first meeting husband at 12
- 21-year-old 'at-risk' California woman missing after weekend hike; search ongoing
- Florida State vs. ACC: Takeaways from court hearing as FSU's lawsuit hits a snag
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Real Housewives' Kyle Richards Says People Think She Has Fake Lashes When She Uses This $9 Mascara
- New Hampshire getting $20M grant to help reconstruct coastal seawalls
- Public health alert issued over ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Contact restored with NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe
Ranking
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Celebrity blitz: Tom Brady set up for 'live, unedited' roast on Netflix next month
- Advocates, man who inspired film ‘Bernie’ ask for air conditioning for him and other Texas inmates
- Milwaukee man charged in dismemberment death pleads not guilty
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan heads to the Senate for final approval after months of delay
- Without cameras to go live, the Trump trial is proving the potency of live blogs as news tools
- Sharks do react to blood in the water. But as a CBS News producer found out, it's not how he assumed.
Recommendation
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
Biden administration tightens rules for obtaining medical records related to abortion
5 people found dead, including children, in Oklahoma City home, police say
Columbia University holds remote classes as pro-Palestinian tent city returns; NYPD says its options are limited
New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
In major homelessness case, Supreme Court grapples with constitutionality of anti-camping ordinances
Wall Street is looking to Tesla’s earnings for clues to Musk’s plan to restore company’s wild growth
John Travolta Reveals His Kids' Honest Reaction to His Movies