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STORY: ICJ / GAZA SOUTH AFRICA VS ISRAEL
TRT: 03:56
SOURCE: ICJ
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 11 JANUARY 2024, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS / FILE
FILE - THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS
1. Wide shot, exterior, ICJ Headquarters
11 JANUARY 2024, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS / FILE
2. Various shots, judges enter the Court
3. Wide shot, South African Ambassador Vusimuzi Madonsela addressing Court
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Vusimuzi Madonsela, Ambassador to the Kingdom of The Netherlands, South Africa:
“The State of Israel shall immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza. Two, the State of Israel shall ensure that any military or irregular armed units which may be directed, supported or influenced by it, as well as any organizations and persons which may be subject to its control, direction or influence, take no steps in furtherance of the military operations referred to in point one above.”
5. Wide shot, Madonsela addressing Court
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Vusimuzi Madonsela, Ambassador to the Kingdom of The Netherlands, South Africa:
“The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in relation to the Palestinian People, as a group protected by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, desist from the commission of any and all acts within the scope of article 2 of the Convention, in particular, A, killing members of the group, B, causing serious bodily or mental harm to the members of the group, C, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and D, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”
7. Wide shot, Madonsela addressing Court
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Vusimuzi Madonsela, Ambassador to the Kingdom of The Netherlands, South Africa:
“The State of Israel shall. Pursuant to point four, paragraph C above, in relation to Palestinians, desist from and take all measures within its power, including the rescinding of relevant orders of restrictions and or prohibition to prevent, A, the expulsion and forced displacement from their homes, B, the prevention of access to adequate food and water, access to humanitarian assistance, including access to adequate fuel, shelter, clothes, hygiene and sanitation, the medical supplies and assistance, and C, the destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza.”
9. Wide shot, Madonsela addressing Court
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Vusimuzi Madonsela, Ambassador to the Kingdom of The Netherlands, South Africa:
“The State of Israel shall take effective measures to prevent that destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within this scope of article two of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. To that end, the States of Israel shall not act to deny or otherwise restrict access by fact-finding missions, international Mandates, and other bodies to Gaza to assist in ensuring the preservation and retention of said evidence.”
11. Various shots, end of session
South Africa addressed the United Nations’ highest court today (11 Jan) in a bid to end the mass killing of civilians in Gaza, accusing Israel of carrying out genocide against Palestinians there – a claim that Israel has strongly denied.
The development came amid the ongoing and massive Israeli bombardment across the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas-led terror attacks on 7 October that left some 1,200 Israeli and foreign nationals dead in southern Israel and some 250 taken hostage.
Laying out their case, as a State party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the South African legal team requested a series of provisional measures to be implemented by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
Addressing the Court, South Africa’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela said, “the State of Israel shall immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.”
Madonsela said, Israel shall also ensure “that any military or irregular armed units which may be directed, supported or influenced by it, as well as any organizations and persons which may be subject to its control, direction or influence, take no steps in furtherance of the military operations referred to in point one above.”
The State of Israel, he continued, shall, “desist from the commission of any and all acts within the scope of article 2 of the Convention, in particular, A, killing members of the group, B, causing serious bodily or mental harm to the members of the group, C, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and D, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”
Madonsela said Israel shall also “desist from and take all measures within its power, including the rescinding of relevant orders of restrictions and or prohibition to prevent, A, the expulsion and forced displacement from their homes, B, the prevention of access to adequate food and water, access to humanitarian assistance, including access to adequate fuel, shelter, clothes, hygiene and sanitation, the medical supplies and assistance, and C, the destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza.”
Finally, he said Israel shall, “take effective measures to prevent that destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts.”
As part of its claim against Israel, South Africa alleges that 6,000 bombs hit Gaza in the first week of the Israeli response to the Hamas-led attacks. This included, South Africa alleges, the use of 2,000-pound bombs at least 200 times in southern areas of the Strip that were designated as safe, and in the north, where refugee camps were located.
The hearing continues on Friday with the Israeli presentation.
