Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
The Hague, SANA- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) began on Thursday its first hearing session to prosecute the Israeli occupation entity for committing genocide crimes in the Gaza Strip, based on a lawsuit filed by South Africa and supported by tens of countries.
According to AFP, South Africa submitted to the court an 84-page file, gathering evidence that the Israeli occupation killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, and created conditions conducive to inflict physical destruction on them, which is considered a crime of genocide.”
The hearings will deal exclusively South Africa’s request to take urgent measures demanding Israel to stop its aggression in the Gaza Strip, while the court hears the legal foundations of the case in a process that may last for a long time.
The court sessions began with an introductory statement presented by Ronald Lamola, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services of the Republic of South Africa followed by the South African representative’s pleading in front of the court.
The Palestinian people were subjected to the Nakba in 1948, and Israel stripped them of their inalienable rights, such as the right of return and self-determination, Lamola said.
Lamola called for an end to the discriminatory policies committed by Israel towards the Palestinian people, using the immunity granted to it.
In the recent period, Israel has escalated its aggression against the Palestinian people, and is also entrenching the apartheid regime in the Palestinian territory, imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip, and inciting against the Palestinian people and killing them, which violates the Genocide Convention, Lamola pointed out.
“We, the representatives of the State of Palestine and Human Rights are bringing this report-supported action on behalf of Gaza citizens who cannot live in security”, Lamola said.
Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, the Islamic Action Organization, which includes 57 countries, and the League of Arab States, as well as 200 professors and experts in international law, most of whom are from prestigious American universities, expressed their support for the lawsuit filed by South Africa to the International Court.
