South Africa's genocide case against Israel endorsed by hundreds of groups globally

The Hague, Netherlands - Over 900 organizations, unions, and political movements around the world have signed a letter in support of South Africa's case before the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Demonstrators speak into a megaphone with a sticker reading "From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free" during a rally in The Hague, Netherlands, home of the International Court of Justice.
Demonstrators speak into a megaphone with a sticker reading "From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free" during a rally in The Hague, Netherlands, home of the International Court of Justice.  © IMAGO / ANP

"We, the undersigned organizations, commend South Africa on its Application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) invoking the Genocide Convention against Israel," the signatories wrote in a letter released on Monday.

The former apartheid country filed the application late last month, arguing that "Israel has engaged in, is engaging in and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza."

Israeli forces have killed more than 23,000 people in Gaza and forcibly displaced 2 million more – with no sign of stopping their relentless attacks.

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"Israel's killing, injuring, traumatizing, and displacing large numbers of Palestinians and denying water, food, medicine, and fuel to an occupied population meet the criteria for the crime of genocide," the new letter states.

Signatories call on other national governments to back South Africa by filing a Declaration of Intervention with the ICJ, which has set hearing dates for the case on January 11 and 12.

"If a majority of the world's nations call for a ceasefire, yet fail to press for prosecution of Israel – what is to stop Israel from ethnically cleansing all Palestinians?" the organizations' joint letter asks.

"For that matter, what is to stop other nations from repeating a horror of this magnitude?"

The signatories include many US-based organizations, including the American Muslim Bar Association, CODEPINK, The People's Forum, and several chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace, to name a few.

Cover photo: IMAGO / ANP

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