WeeklySA_AdminDIRE: The government seeks additional emergency measures in light of the ongoing military action in the “last refuge” for Palestinians in Gaza…
By Bart Meijer and Stephanie van den Berg
South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah as part of additional emergency measures over the war in Gaza, the United Nations top court said today.
In the ongoing case brought by South Africa, which accuses Israel of acts of genocide against Palestinians, the World Court in January ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians.
Israel did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It has previously said it is acting in accordance with international law in Gaza, and has called South Africa’s genocide case baseless and accused Pretoria of acting as “the legal arm of Hamas”.
In filings published today, South Africa is seeking additional emergency measures in light of the ongoing military action in Rafah, which it calls the “last refuge” for Palestinians in Gaza.
The capacity of journalists to report on events in real-time is crucial, and intimidating or killing members of the media must not be permitted to persist without consequences, said Pandor, speaking at the second Shireen Abu Akleh Memorial Lecture at the University of Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
Abu Akleh was a prominent Palestinian-American journalist, who worked as a reporter for Al Jazeera. She was killed by an Israeli soldier while wearing a blue press vest and covering a raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The lecture, organised by the Faculty of Humanities at UJ, centred on the role of academic institutions during periods of genocide.
This week marks two years since the assassination of Abu Akleh, who Pandor described as a beloved veteran journalist, who dedicated her life to the pursuit of justice and truth. “To date, no one has been held accountable for her death despite the global outrage, and there has been no reported progress in the investigation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and silence with regards to any other investigation,” the Minister said.
She cited the United Nations (UN) Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which “concluded on reasonable grounds that Israeli forces used lethal force without justification under international human rights law” when they shot and killed the journalist, violating her right to life.
Pandor bemoaned the situation for journalists in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which she said has become increasingly grave over the past seven months.
In the latest news breaks from Gaza by Al Jazeera, it has reported that:
· The Israeli military has ordered Palestinians to further evacuate eastern Rafah as it intensifies its assault on the area in southern Gaza.
· Health Ministry in Gaza has said it has uncovered 80 bodies from three mass graves from inside a section of the al-Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza City.
· US State Department report says Israel’s use of US-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law, but Washington will continue to supply arms to Israel for now.
· At least 34 971 people have been killed and 78 641 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1 139 with dozens of people still held captive.
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, generally rules within a few weeks on requests for emergency measures. It will likely take years before the court will rule on the merits of the case. While the ICJ’s rulings are binding and without appeal the court has no way to enforce them. – www.fullview.co.za/SA News
