South Africa says Israel is not implementing ICJ ruling

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed on Sunday his country’s belief that Israel is not implementing the ruling regarding precautionary measures issued by the International Court of Justice in the context of the genocide case in Gaza.

“Israel has not been complying with the order that was issued by the court,” said Ramaphosa. “So, we’ve seen it fit to approach on an urgent basis particularly with a view of addressing the challenges in the Rafah area where a few days ago, more than 100 people were massacred.” He pointed out that South Africa wants the court to take another decision on that on how it addresses that and forestalls the occurrence of any other incident. “One other concerning thing is that starvation which many organisations have been warning about has now arrived. People in Gaza are now starving.”

The International Court of Justice announced last Wednesday that South Africa had submitted an urgent request to give additional precautionary measures and amend the court’s order issued on 26 January, and its subsequent decision issued on 16 February, in the case brought against Israel. The case is related to the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.

The ICJ explained that South Africa stated in its new request that it was forced to return to the court in light of the new facts and changes in the situation on the ground in Gaza, especially the widespread famine.

This is the third complaint against Israel submitted by South Africa to the court, which is the highest judicial body in the UN, since the occupation state began its devastating war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip five months ago.

In response to the case filed by South Africa on 29 December last year, the ICJ ruled on 26 January and ordered the Israeli government to take measures to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians and improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged by Israel for 17 years. The court also ordered Israel to submit a report within a month after the issuance of the decision regarding the extent to which it has implemented these measures.

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