Ireland Files Declaration to Join ICJ Genocide Case against Israel

London, MINA – Ireland has filed a declaration to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Tuesday.

“Ireland, pursuant to Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, files a declaration of intervention in the case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip,” or South Africa v. Israel, the court said in a statement, as quoted by Anadolu Agency.

Ireland’s Foreign Minister Micheal Martin announced last month that it would join the case after obtaining government approval for the move under the Genocide Convention.

Under Article 63, any state party to the convention under consideration has the right to intervene, so the ICJ’s interpretation of the convention is binding on them as well.

In December 2023, South Africa filed an application to commence legal proceedings against Israel, claiming violations of the Genocide Convention regarding Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Several countries have joined the case, including Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain and Turkey.

Israel has continued its brutal assault on Gaza since October 2023 despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Nearly 46,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed and more than 105,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli offensive has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to shortages of food, clean water and medicine. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)