Turkey to join South Africa genocide case against Israel
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on May 1st that Turkey would join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the New Arab and agencies reported.
“Upon completion of the legal text of our work,” he said in a joint press conference in Ankara, “we will submit the declaration of official intervention before the ICJ with the objective of implementing this political decision.”
He added that “Turkey will continue to support the Palestinian people in all circumstances.”
In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and prohibit its troops from carrying out genocidal acts.
This followed South Africa accusing Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza — an allegation that was denied by Israel and its Western allies.
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Israeli lawyer Tal Becker said the case was, “an attempt to weaponize the term ‘genocide’ against Israel” and to deny the country’s “right to self defence.”
On February 29th — now known as the Flour Massacre — the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) allegedly fired into a crowd awaiting aid, killing over 100 civilians and wounding another 760. This prompted South Africa to publically plead with ICJ to continue pressuring Israel.
On January 26th, the ICJ called for the prevention of civilian deaths in Gaza and vowed to hold those responsible for genocidal acts accountable — though it did not make any demand for a ceasefire.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would provide documents for the case, though its final ruling in The Hague could take years.
The New Arab and agencies
