Ireland has become a party to South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced on Tuesday.
ICJ issued a brief press statement informing the public that Ireland had joined Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico, Libya, Bolivia, Turkey, the Maldives, Chile, Spain, and the State of Palestine in requesting intervention in the case.
In December 2023, South Africa initially took legal action against Israel, claiming that the Israeli government was responsible for genocide in the Gaza Strip as part of its continuing offensive. While it keeps battling South Africa in court, Israel has strongly denied accusations that it is committing genocide.
Instead of bringing up any new accusations against Israel, Ireland’s intervention declaration focuses on the legal basis for its engagement in South Africa’s case.
The document that Ireland submitted noted the fact that genocide is defined by law as the deliberate destruction of a population, either in whole or in part.
Ireland had long been critical of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and Gaza prior to the Hamas assaults of October 7, 2023.
