The International Court of Justice will hear from 52 countries on the legality of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.
South Africa told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague that Israel was responsible for apartheid against the Palestinian people and that its occupation was “intrinsically and fundamentally illegal”.
South Africa's representatives held a second day of hearings at the ICJ on Tuesday to address the UN General Assembly's request for a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of Israel's policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
“We South Africans deeply feel, see, hear and feel the inhumane discriminatory policies and practices of the Israeli regime as an even more extreme form of apartheid institutionalized against black people in our country. ” said South Africa's Vusimuzi Madonsela. African ambassador to the Netherlands, where ICJ is based.
“It is clear that the illegal occupation of Israel is also carried out in violation of the crime of apartheid. … It is indistinguishable from settler colonialism. Israeli apartheid must end,” Madonsela said. he said.
He added that South Africa has a “special obligation” to call out apartheid wherever it occurs and to “immediately end it”.
South Africa, which has a long history of support for the Palestinians and has compared their struggle to its history under the apartheid system, filed a separate case at the ICJ accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in its bombing of Gaza. .
More than 50 countries plan to submit arguments to the ICJ on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation.
On Tuesday, representatives from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile took their positions.
The 15-judge panel ruled that Israel's “occupation, including measures aimed at changing the demographic composition, character and status of the holy city of Jerusalem, and the introduction of related discriminatory laws and measures,” “Settlement, annexation'' has been requested.
Israel is building illegal settlements throughout the occupied West Bank, which is currently home to more than 500,000 Jewish settlers and 3 million Palestinians.
Israeli settlers are becoming increasingly violent. Their actions, particularly in the past few months as Israel has attacked Gaza, have been condemned by world leaders.
But South Africa's representative, Peter Andreas Stemmett, told the court that the settlement “extends the temporary nature of the occupation into a permanent situation that violates the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.”
On Monday, Palestinian representatives asked the UN Supreme Court to declare the occupation illegal. They said such an advisory opinion could contribute to a two-state solution and durable peace.
In an emotional speech, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki asked the court to treat Palestinian children as children, saying: “The group identity to which we belong undermines the rights we all have. Not,” he added.
Despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's repeated rejection of the idea of a Palestinian state, Israel refuses to attend the hearings and says the advisory opinion is detrimental to achieving a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. It was stated in writing that there was.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel does not recognize the legitimacy of the arguments before the ICJ, calling the incident “part of an attempt by the Palestinian side to dictate the outcome of a political agreement without negotiations.” .
The case is expected to take about six months for the judges to issue an opinion, but political analyst Gideon Levy told Al Jazeera that the ICJ case will have little impact on Israeli policy. “I'm afraid,” he said, but that “a lot depends on the international community.” .
“The only question is whether the world can move from blame and condemnation to action,” he said.
