Turkiye has officially announced its support for South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), asserting that the Occupation is committing genocide of Palestinians in its ongoing war on Gaza.
In the case filed last month, South Africa requested that the ICJ declare “on an urgent basis that Israel is in breach of its obligations in terms of the Genocide Convention”, and that the Occupation state “should immediately cease all acts and measures in breach of those obligations and take a number of related actions”.
The former apartheid state said its demand for the ICJ’s order is “necessary in this case to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people”.
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In a statement by Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Oncu Keceli, this week, he said that Turkiye welcomes the South African case and expects that the Court will issue an interim injunction ordering Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza – an implementation which Ankara would be following.
“Israel’s murder of more than 22,000 Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom were women and children, in Gaza for nearly three months should not go unpunished in any way,” Keceli stated.
“Those responsible for this must be held accountable before international law,” he added, expressing Turkiye’s hope “that the process will be completed as soon as possible”.
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