[ad_1]
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa says more than 50 countries have pledged support. Litigation before the United Nations Supreme Court Accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians war in Gaza.
Others, including: US, strongly rejected South Africa’s claims that Israel was in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Many more remain silent.
The world’s reaction to the landmark case, heard at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Thursday and Friday, is a predictable global divide on the 75-year-old issue of Israelis and Palestinians. It shows.Sunday marks the 100th day Their bloodiest feud yet.
Most of the countries supporting South Africa’s case are from the Arab world and Africa. The only Muslim country in Europe that has publicly expressed support is Turkey.
Western countries have not expressed support for South Africa’s claims against Israel. The United States, a close ally of Israel, rejected them as baseless, Britain called them unjustified and Germany said it “unequivocally rejects” them.
China and Russia have said little about one of the most serious cases before international courts. The European Union has also not commented.
USA: “Innocent” allegations
US Secretary of State antony blinken Visiting Israel the day before the court proceedings began, he said South Africa’s allegations were “baseless” and the case was “detracting the world’s attention” from efforts to find a lasting solution to the conflict. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said genocide is “not a word that should be thrown around lightly, and we certainly don’t believe it applies here.”
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: “I disagree with the actions of the South Africans.”
Israel vehemently rejects genocide allegations, insists they are true protect the people. It said the attack was aimed at eradicating the leadership of the militant group Hamas, which runs the territory and sparked the conflict. launch a surprise attack The attack on southern Israel on October 7th left about 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians. Approximately 250 people were taken hostage.
Blinken said the genocide incidents against Israel were “particularly vexing” given Hamas and other groups’ “continued public demands.” destruction of israel And the genocide of the Jews. ”
The US, UK, EU and others classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Israeli military response More than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The Count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. More than two-thirds of the dead were women and children. Most of northern Gaza is Uninhabitable lunar landscape Entire neighborhoods were obliterated by Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling.
South Africa also condemns Hamas’s October 7 attack, but says it does not justify Israel’s response.
Germany’s support for Israel
Germany’s declaration of support for Israel on Friday, the closing day of the hearings, has symbolic significance given its history. holocaust, when the Nazis murdered 6 million Jews in Europe. Israel was founded after World War II as a haven for Jews in the shadow of these atrocities.
“Israel has been defending itself,” said German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. His statement also cited the Holocaust, which largely spurred the creation of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.
“Given Germany’s history… we believe that the federal government is placing particular emphasis on the Genocide Convention,” he said. He said the allegations against Israel were “totally baseless.”
Germany said it intended to intervene in the case on Israel’s behalf.
The EU said only that countries have the right to sue in UN courts. Most member states have refrained from taking a position.
Turkey, which is in the process of joining the EU, was the only voice in the region. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country had provided documents that were used against Israel in the incident.
“With these documents, Israel will be condemned,” he said.
arab condemnation
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation was one of the first groups to publicly support the incident. When South Africa submitted that Late last month. “Genocide is being carried out by the IDF,” he said, accusing Israel of “indiscriminately targeting” people. Civilians in Gaza.
The OIC is a 57-nation bloc that includes Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt. The head office is located in Saudi Arabia. The Cairo-based Arab League (nearly all 22 member states are members of the OIC) also supported South Africa’s case.
South Africa also attracted some support from outside the Arab world. Namibia and Pakistan agreed to this at the United Nations General Assembly this week. Malaysia also expressed support.
“No peace-loving human being can ignore the genocide committed against Palestinians in Gaza,” Namibian President Hage Geingob was quoted as saying in the southern African newspaper Namibian.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for “legal accountability for Israeli atrocities in Gaza.”
China and Russia: silence
China,Russia — faces allegations of genocide even in the world court — and the rising powers India They have remained largely silent, recognizing that taking a stand in such an incendiary case has little benefit and could irreparably disrupt relations in the region. It seems there is.
India’s foreign policy has historically supported the Palestinian cause, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first world leaders to champion the Palestinian cause. Solidarity with Israel And calls Hamas attacks terrorism.
somewhere in the middle
Several South American countries have spoken out, including Brazil, the continent’s largest economy, whose foreign ministry said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva supports South Africa’s claims. However, the ministry’s comments did not directly condemn Israel’s genocide, but instead focused on the need for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
South Africa’s case against Israel has two aspects. South Africa wants the court to issue an interim ruling alleging Israel is committing genocide and ordering an end to military operations in Gaza. The court is expected to issue a preliminary verdict soon, but said it could take several years to reach a final verdict on the genocide charges, reflecting the seriousness of the case.
Brazil said it expected Israel to “immediately cease all acts and measures that could amount to genocide” in the wake of the incident.
Other countries have also not reached agreements with South Africa. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he hoped the court would order a ceasefire in Gaza, although he said the case for genocide was “far from clear”.
Not sure if it’s Israel will obey any command to stop military action. When the same court ordered it to halt its invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, Russia did not respond.
___
AP reporters from around the world contributed to this story.
___
More AP coverage on the Israel-Hamas war: https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
[ad_2]
Source link
