South Africa Oral Argument: Genocide in Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) | Int'l Court of Justice

now who for please be seated the cting is open the court meet this afternoon and we meet tomorrow morning to hear the order observations of the parties on the requests submitted by the Republic of South Africa on May 10 2024 for the indication of additional provisional measures and the modification of previous provisional measures in the case concerning application of the convention on the prevention and Punishment of the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip South Africa versus Israel for reasons made known to me judge tomka is unable to be present on the bench for the for the duration of these hearings I shall now recall the principle steps of the procedure in the present case on 29 December 2023 the government of South Africa F in the registry of the Court an application instituting proceedings against the state of alleging violations by the letter of its obligations under the 1948 convention on the prevention and Punishment of the crime of genocide to which I shall refer at the jide convention in particular South Africa contended that Israel in conducting military operations in and against Gaza in the wake of the attack of isra in Israel by Hamas on October 7 2023 has breached and and continues to breach its obligations under the jide convention to found the jurisdiction of the Court South Africa invokes article 36 paragraph 1 of the statute of the court and article 9 of the genocide convention the application contained a request in the indication of provisional measures pursuant to article 41 of the statute of the court and article 7374 and 75 of the rules of court in its order of January 26 2024 the court indicated various provisional measures addressed to Israel by letter dated February 12 2024 South Africa submitted to the court what it referred to as an urgent request for additional measures under article 75 paragraph 1 of the rules of court in connection with certain developing circumstances in Rafa by letter from the registar dated 16 February 2024 the parties were informed that the provisional measures indicated by the court in its order of 26 January 2024 were applicable throughout the Gaza Strip including in Rafa and that the recent developments did not therefore demand indication of additional provisional measures the court also emphasized that Israel remained bound to fully comply with its obligations under the genocide convention and with the said order including by ensuring the Safety and Security of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on March 6 2024 South Africa find a further request for the indication of additional provisional measures and or the modification of measures previously indicated by the court in its order of 26 January 2024 based on the alleged change in the situation in Gaza since the indication of the first set of provisional measures in its order of March 28th 2024 the court found that exceptionally the grave recent developments including the desperate level of food insecurity in the Gaza Strip and the fact that famine was setting in constituted a change in the situation within the meaning of article 76 of the rules the court concluded that the provisional measures indicated in the order of 26 January 2024 did not fully address the consequences arising from this change in the situation thus justifying the modification of those measures in the operative close the court reaffirmed the provisional measures indicated in its order of January 26 uh 2024 and indicated additional measures the court indicat that the state of Israel shall in view um of the woring conditions of Life faced by pal Palestinians in Gaza in particular the spread of famine and starvation take all necessary and effective measures to ensure without delay the unhindered provision of at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians throughout Gaza and ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the convention on genocide today's hearings concerned the Urgent request filed by South Africa on 10 May 2024 for the indication of additional provisional measures and the modification of provisional measures previously prescribed by the court in the case the registar will now read out the passage from the request specifying the provisional measures which the government of South Africa is asking the court to indicate you have the floor Mr registar thank you Mr President I quote one the state of Israel shall immediately withdraw and seize its military offensive in the Rafa governorate two the state of Israel shall immediately take all effective measures to ensure and facilitate the unimpeded access to Gaza of United Nations and other officials engage in the provision of humanitarian Aid and assistance to the population of Gaza as well as fact finding missions internationally mandated bodies or officials investigators and journalists in order to assess and record conditions on the ground in Gaza and enable the effective preservation and retention of evidence and shall ensure that its military does not act to prevent such access provision preservation or retention three the state of Israel shall submit an open report to the court a on all measures taken to give effect to these provisional measures within one week as from the date of this order and be on on all measures taken to give effect to all previous provisional measures indicated by the court within 1 month as from the date of this order end of the quote the regist immediately after the filing of the request for the indication of additional provisional measures and the modification of previous provision measures the regist transmitted an original copy thereof to the government of Israel according to article 74 paragraph 1 of the rules of Court a request for the indication of provisional measures shall have priority over all other cases paragraph two of the same article states that the court shall proceed to a decision on the request as a matter of urgency this imperative must however be balanced with the need to fix a date of oral proceedings in such a way as to afford the parties an opportunity to be represented at the hearings consequently the parties were informed that the date for the opening of the order proceeding during which they could present their observations on the applicants request had been fixed for Thursday May 16 at 3 p.m. I would now like to welcome the delegations of South Africa and Israel and I note the presence before the court of the agents and Council of both parties this afternoon the court will hear the single round of oral argument of South Africa which has submitted the request for the indication and modification of provisional measures it will hear to Israel tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. for the purposes of the single round of oral argument each party will have available to it a 2hour sitting in this first sitting South Africa May if required Avail itself of a short extension Beyond 5:00 p.m. today in view of the time taken up by these introduction remarks before I give the floor to the agent of South Africa I wish to draw the part's attention to practice Direction 11 Roman which state as follows I quote in the oral pleadings on request for the indication of provisional measures part should limit themselves to what is relevant for the criteria for the indication of provisional measures as stipulated in the statute rules and Juris Prudence of the Court they should not enter into the merits of the case beyond what is strictly necessary for that purpose I now give the floor to the agent of South Africa his excellenc Mr vzi madella you have the floor Excellency Mr President distinguished members of the Court it is an honor and a privilege for me to appear before you on behalf of the Republic of South Africa I wish to thank the court for setting this matter down for an honor hearing on the earliest possible date recognizing the extreme agency of its circumstances since its initial application South Africa found itself compelled to return to this court both in February and March 2024 to request for the indication of additional provisional measures to prevent Israel's persistent acts of genocide against the uh Palestinian people in Gaza sadly South Africa is yet again compelled to return to this court in recognition of its obligation under the genocide convention due to the continuing annihilation of the Palestinian people with over 35,000 now killed and most of Gaza reduced to Rubble despite the short notice of this oral hearing South Africa has traveled here today to do what it can to ently stop the ongoing genocide the gravity of the attacks requiring urgent and Speedy proceedings to preserve the rights of the Palestinian people a commitment which South Africa takes seriously Israel is escalating its attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and in so doing is willfully breaching The Binding orders of this court Israel similarly breaches The Binding resolutions of the United Nations security Council erroneously believing from the lack of counter measures by the International Community that it is exempt from having to respect international law this institutionalized impunity has led Israel to engage in in this genocide which has shocked the conscience of humanity South Africa is mindful that the present genocide operates in denial of the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination and Collective right to return to their homes in Palestine this genocide takes place within the context of the ongoing nagba the 76th anniversary of which was celebrated yesterday the continued forc displacement of the Palestinian people the Erasure of Palestinian presence in Palestine and replacement with Colonial settlers a criminal process entr Tred and maintained by 76 years of apartate and 56 years of illegal belligerent occupation undoubtedly the ongoing scenes of Palestinians being forced to repeatedly free for their lives is only remiss of the naagar of 1948 it is a continuation of it 7 months ago South Africa could not have imagined that Gaza would now be mostly wiped off the map it could not foresee that every family every neighborhood every class of students every workplace would be pulled apart killed maimed displaced malnourished or stared South Africa had hoped when we last appeared before this court to hold this genocidal process to preserve pestine and its people instead Israel's genocide has continued a paace and has just reached a new and horrific stage Israel has sought to hide its crimes through the weaponization of international humanitarian law it pretends that the civilians it ruthlessly kills through its 2,000 bombs through its targeted air strikes through its artificial intelligence systems through its execution are human Shields this whitewashing of Israel's genocide misses the key and fundamental element that of the massive and still mounting evidence of Israel's genocidal intent documented documents and videos of Israeli parliamentarians and military leaders calling for the destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza incitement by Israeli civil society and leading public Israeli figures all collectively supporting the genocide and its continuation Israel continues to show utter contempt for Palestinian life operating with impunity South Africa has no no other option than to once again seek protection in the halls of justice for the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people to their existence although this present application was triggered by the unfolding horrific situation in Rafa Israel's genocidal Onslaught across Gaza has intensified over the the past few days also warranting the attention of this court with that Mr President I respectably wish to request you to invite Professor Von low to set out South Africa's substantive legal arguments I thank you I thank the agent of South Africa for his statement I now invite Professor Von L to take the floor you have the floor sir thank you sir Mr President members of the Court it is a privilege to appear before you and an honor to have been entrusted with the presentation of this part of South Africa's submissions this is not a routine case it's not even a routine case on the use of force or on International humanitarian law South Africa is here because the Palestinian people are facing genocide in Gaza and your previous orders have not succeeded in protecting them against that the Court held in January that the Palestinians have a legal right to protection against genocide and that South Africa had shown that there was a real and imminent RK to the irreparable violation of that right the court issued an order because it considered it necessary to protect the Palestinian people against genocide and it issued a further order in March but whether because of a lack of clarity as to precisely what the orders require or because Israel chooses to ignore them they have not been effective the United Nations has a framework including the security Council and the general assembly for addressing international disputes but this part has not worked well in this case and South Africa respectfully asks the court to reassert its Authority and its role in this framework South Africa has considered the technical legal requirements for visional measures changing the situation and so on and will address them but the essential point is that the court has the power to act to ensure that its previous orders and its eventual judgment will not be worthless and that the Palestinian people will be protected and that it needs to exercise that power now Israel's Act is directed against the Palestinian people throughout Gaza and the West Bank South Africa's request was initially focused on Rafa because the imminent Prospect of death and suffering on a massive scale resulting from Israel's attack since that request was made it has become increasingly clear that Israel's actions in Rafa are part of the end game in which Gaza is utterly destroyed as an area capable of human habitation this is the last step in the destruction of Gaza and its Palestinian people it was Rafa that brought South Africa to the court but it is all Palestinians as a national ethnical and racial group who need the protection from genocide that the court can order we've heard expressions of outrage that anyone could accuse Israel of acting in this way we've heard assurances that Israel was doing everything in its power to avoid civilian deaths as it exercised its claimed right of self-defense we've heard boasts that Israel's Army is the most moral Army in history and we've heard denials that there is famine in Gaza for months people particularly in the west have appeared unwilling to accept that the accusations are true how could people who look like us and sound like us possibly engage in anything like genocide but the evidence has to be faced my colleagues will take you to that evidence including evidence of continued bombings attacks on people in so-called safe areas to which they've been directed by Israel attacks on Aid convoys and of mass Graves and the horrors of which the corpses speak there is no credible argument that this catastrophe is not [Music] real the court has already found a real and imminent risk of the violation of the rights of the Palestinian people to protection against genocide the court is aware of the statements of the United Nations Secretary General of the president of the United States of heads of state and foreign ministers from around the world and of the heads of international Aid agencies they and the personal accounts and the news footage that emerges from G tell a consistent story of unimaginable horror and it continues as we speak most of Gaza has been raised the survivors who are from time to time allowed to return to their homes are returning to Rubble with no homes no running water or electricity or sewage or other working infrastructure and with the few possessions that they've managed to carry with them on carts or cars as they're pushed from one so-called safe area to the next if the court does not act now the possibility of rebuilding a viable Palestinian Society in Gaza will be destroyed at least for the lifetime of those who survive the current horrors of Gaza the details are not always easy to verify because Israel continues to Bar independent investigators and journalists from entering Gaza and over 100 journalists who were in Gaza have been killed since the Israeli attacks began but Israel cannot block investigations by independent investigators and then say that the court cannot proceed because there is insufficient evidence against it the court has to deal with this case on the basis of its appraisal of the best evidence available to it Israel May again invoke its claimed right of self-defense but it does not address three glaringly obvious points first the right of self-defense does not give a state a license to use unlimited violence no right of self-defense can ever extend to a right to inflict massive indiscriminate violence and starvation collectively on an entire people second nothing not self-defense or anything else can ever just Justified genocide the prohibition on genocide is absolute a peremptory Norm of international law third the Court ruled in 2004 that there is no right of self-defense by an occupying State against the territory that it occupies the key point today is that Israel's declared aim of white in Gaza from the map is about to be realized further evidence of appalling crimes and atrocities is literally being destroyed and bulldozed in effect wiping the Slate clean for those who've committed these crimes and making a mockery of Justice the court is not powerless and South Africa submits with respect that it must do do something to assert not only its own authority but the authority of international law South Africa submits that in order to secure the entry and distribution of food and humanitarian supplies and to save lives a halt to Israeli military operations across Gaza is essential the overwhelming weight of opinion among states and International organizations is the same a halt to military operations in Gaza is necessary to comply with the previous orders that the court has already imposed if Israel continues to deny that its bombing and shelling and Military incursions and blocking of roads and entry points and its other military operations in Gaza are preventing the Fulfillment of the Court's orders the court needs to spell it out explicitly for Israel and for the benefit of any other states that are still providing Aid or assistance to Israel in its campaign to eradicate Palestine these points will be developed by South Africa's Council first John Dugard will explain the jurisdictional and other preconditions to the exercise of the Court's power to order provisional measure and demonstrate that they are met second Max dupi will set out the recent events that have necessitated South Africa's return to the court and particularly those concerning Rafa then adila Hass will explain the scale and imminence of the risk facing Palestinians in Gaza and after that tbea Kut toi will show that Israel's actions have a pattern and an explicit purpose that clearly indicates that the aim is to eradicate Palestine and finally L Nei will explain the remedies that South Africa seeks and the agent will return to read out South Africa's prayer for Relief that Mr President members of the Court concludes my part of this submission and I thank you for your attention and ask that you now call on Professor dugar I thank Professor vono for his statement I now give the floor to professor John dugar you have your Sir Mr President distinguished members of the Court it is a privilege to before you on behalf of the Republic of South Africa in my speech today I will briefly address the subject of jurisdiction and then examine the circumstances that give rise to our request for further provisional measures in this order of 26th January of this year the court found that the applicant had primate facely established the existence of a dispute between it and the respondent relating to the application of the genocide convention and that the court had jurisdiction in terms of article 9 of the genocide convention in this order of 28 March the court found that there was no reason to revisit this decision it is submitted that this inclusion remains valid for the present proceedings the court also found that Palestinians in the GU of strip have a plausible right to be protected from acts of genocide and that South Africa had the right to seek compliance with this obligation again the court declared that this finding need not be Revisited in its decision of 28 March again it is submitted that this conclusion remains valid the court has found that South Africa has advanced a plausible genocide claim on 26 January the court found that the situation in Gaza was one that required urgent attention and that there was a risk of irreparable prejudice this was confirmed in the order of 28 March and it is a situation that continues today indeed it is further the heightened now in the context of Israel's brutal attacks on Rafa and subsequent intensified bombing across the North and middle areas of Gaza Mr President on the basis of the above findings the court ordered a number of provisional measures on 26 January on 28th March the court found that the circumstances of the situation had changed in terms of article 76 of the rules of Court as a result of the risk of famine and ordered three more provisional measures against Israel today Mr President South Africa approaches the court for a new provisional measure new provisional measures to ensure that the rights in issue in the proceedings including the right of Palestinians to protected be protected from acts of genocide will be protected the rules of Court allow the court to order new provisional measures when new facts are established or there has been some change in the situation which justifies modification of the existing orders it is of course impossible to provide an absolute definition of new facts or change in the situation as it is necessary to have regard to the situation in each and every case decisions of the Court involving provisional measures have dealt with a change in the situation arising from new facts in completely different circumstances cases have dealt with matters of life and death territorial change and freedom of movement each case depends upon its own set of facts and whether these facts have so altered the situation that new provisional measures are Justified on the part of court in issuing its March order the court considered that developments since January 2004 2024 which it found to be exceptionally grave constituted a change in the situation within the meaning of article 76 of the rules of Court it also found that the previous provisional measures that it had indicated would not fully address the consequences arising from the changes in the situation and this led the court to order further provisional measures the changes in the situation since March of this year are in many ways grave SL they too justify the indication of further provisional measures on 26 January this year this court found that there was a catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip which uh was at serious risk of deteriorating further before the court renders its final judgment and this warranted provisional measures on 28 March the court found that the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated further in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities Mr President members of the Court it is difficult to imagine that the situation could get worse but unfortun Ely it has in the early days of the Gaza War Israel forced Palestinians to relocate to the South to the Rafa govern it 1.5 million people were crammed into this inhospitable area in the Rafa government which appeared to offer safety from Israel's bombing artillery fire and the brutality of its forces influenced by genocidal incitement by its leaders world leaders warned that an assault on Goda and in particular on Rafa resulting in the forced and arbitrary evacuation of the already displaced Palestinians to even less hospitable parts of Gaza without adequate Food Water Shelter and hospitals would have disastrous consequences the director general of the World Health Organization declared that a military incursion into raer will plunge the crisis into unprecedented levels of humanitarian need a ceasefire is needed for the sake of humanity Israel Mr President has not heeded this warning it has not even fulfilled its own undertaking not to embark on an assault on on Rafa without a proper evacuation plan instead it has gone ahead and embarked on an attack on Rafa the Rafa government has been bombed subjected to artillery fire and ground incursions the Raa Crossing is closed and the Kum Shalom Crossing is mostly disabled Mr President my colleagues will provide you with a full account of Israel's genocidal act in the Gaza Strip it is my task to briefly indicate the new facts required by article 753 and the change in the situation required by article 761 Mr President this application for further provisional measures is prompted by Israel's assault on Rafer it is this assault that constitutes the new facts the change in circumstances Rafa is the last refuge in Gaza for 1.5 million Palestinians the majority of whom have been forcibly displaced from North and Central Gaza Rafa is the last viable part of Gaza for habilitation public administration the provision of basic services and Medical Care Israel has now commenced its long threatened assault on Rafa it has ordered the evacuation of Palestinians in Rafa to the baron sand dunes of almawashi it has closed critical border crossings to humanitarian Aid medical supplies goods and fuel upon which the population of Rafa depends displacement famine and suffering are now the lot of the Palestinian group Israel's actions are in violation of fundamental rules of humanitarian law but in addition they provide evidence of the crime of genocide in terms of Articles 2 a b c and d of the genocide convention Mr President members of the Court this attack is the final blow that is intended to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza that this is the intention of the final operation will be made clear by Mr inqui Mr President since South Africa fired the present application for provisional measures Israel has intensified its offensive in the north and in central Gaza in these circumstances we have requested the court to issue a provisional measure that orders Israel to cease its military activities throughout Gaza and to withdraw from the territory such an order alone can bring an end to Israel's genocide in Gaza that the court has the power to order such a provisional measure is clear the court has stated that in terms of article 752 of the rules of Court it has the power under its statute when a request for provisional measures has been made to indicate provisional measures that are in whole or in part other than those requested Mr President members of the Court this concludes my speech I thank you for your attention I thank uh professor John duar for his statement I now give the floor to Professor Max dupy you have the floor sir Mr President distinguished members of the court it's a privilege to appear before you on behalf of South Africa my task is to address this court on the new facts and the grave changes in the situation in Rafa that is fast leading to the deadliest phase in this ongoing genocide those are the circumstances that compel South Africa to return to the court to seek urgent further or modified provisional measures against Israel judges of this court have recognized that the underlying reason for the Court's January and March orders was that the very right of existence of the Palestinian population in Gaza is currently at risk of irreparable prejudice and that the only effective way of preserving the right of existence of the protected group is through the function of prevention South Africa seeks these provisional measures before it's too late for prevention to be possible let alone effective this court noted that the situation in Rafa was already perilous in its decision of 16 February and instead of complying with this Court's decisions of January February and March Israel has defied this court by trapping besieging and bombarding an overcrowded Raa exacerbating the security and the safety of a million and a half highly vulnerable Palestinians Mr President no one in Gaza is safe because as the United Nations has repeatedly made clear nowhere in Gaza is safe Palestinians were instructed by Israeli evacuation I orders to move South to Rafa and seek Refuge there from the bombardment in the north yet for months the expanding population scrambling for refuge in Rafa has been explicitly told by Israel that they are not safe and that Israel does not intend for them to be safe the International Community has witnessed Israeli soldiers preparing for the crowned invasion of Rafa forming themselves chanting tear down Rafa and Israel's intention is typified by statements such as that of Israel's Minister of Finance Mr smot a member of the security cabinet who has explained and I quote there are no half measures Rafa D Al balah nirat total Annihilation you shall blot out the remembrance of AMC from under Heaven there's no place under Heaven close quote Mr nukat toi will deal in careful detail with intention that is so clearly evident in such statements and by Israel's conduct now Israel has resolutely resisted all International efforts to persuade and Kajol it from eventually attacking Rafa as we contemplate the horror of recent events and the significance of Rafa for Israel's ongoing assault the reminders regrettably of Sanita come into view Rafa's prominence in the eyes of both the Palestinians in Gaza and the international Community lies in it being the most visible of the safe areas in Gaza which has received significant attention in the international media to paraphrase the international criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia in a decision endorsed by this court Israel's spectacular destruction of Rafa despite the assurances of the International Community including this court and in the full glare of the international media is intended by Israel to serve as a potent example to all Palestinians of their vulnerability and their defenselessness in the face of Israeli military forces and to be emblematic of the fate of all Palestinians in Gaza to use Mr sm's words that there is no place under Heaven that they safe South Africa has made clear in its request of 10 May that not only is there nowhere for the 1 and a half million displaced people and others in Rafa to safely flee so much of Gaza having been reduced to Rubble but that if Rafa is similarly destroyed there will be little left of Gaza or Prospect for the survival of Palestinian life in the territory Rafa is where gaza's largest still partially functioning hospitals are situated attacks on Rafa's hospitals akin to those mounted by Israel against hospitals elsewhere in the STP would therefore deal a fatal blow to gaza's already crippled Healthcare System and at the same time as these assaults Aid is being throttled that throttling is done defiantly and deliberately this court ordered on 28 March that in Conformity with its obligations under the genocide convention and in view of the worsening conditions of Life faced by Palestinians in Gaza in particular the spread of famine and starvation that Israel was to take all necessary and effective measures to ensure without delay full cooperation with the United Nations the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance that included an Express order that Israel increased the capacity and number of land Crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary and Israel was also ordered to ensure with immediate effect that its military does not prevent through any action the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance why was that order so critical well because the two border crossings in Rafa which Israel has ceased and shut down are the main entry points for life-saving humanitarian Aid and other Goods entering Gaza and for the entry and exit of people including humanitarian workers Medics medical evacuees and Palestinians trying to flee the conflict Israel's seizure of those Crossings places Israel in control of all access to and from Gaza its current closure of The Crossings has served to seal Gaza hermetically from the outside world further torpedoing the delivery of Aid to and within Gaza and as the primary humanitarian hub for assistance in Gaza if Rafa Falls so too does Gaza and deliberately hurting 1 and a half million Palestinians in TFA and then carrying out a fullscale bombardment while sealing off entry and exit for life-saving Aid to an already devastated population while exposing them to famine and human suffering leaves only one inference regret regrettably and that is of genocidal intent I turn now to consider the topic of Rafa as a supposed place of Refuge 10 days ago Rafa was described as the last refuge for Palestinians in Gaza it was the only remaining area of the strip which had not yet been substantially destroyed by Israeli attacks over the past 7 months hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were ordered by Israel to evacuate to Rafa for their safety some forcibly being displaced for the ninth time desperate terrified and clinging to Life by a thread these Palestinians have sought shelter often in makeshift tents or under sheets of scrap plastic in the tiny and densely crowded city of Rafa hoping against hope to stay alive in the ongoing Israeli bombardment a situ of children Rafa has become home to some 600,000 Palestinian children and babies many of them orphaned or disabled by Israel and recall that they joined the Staggering reality according to un women that among the dead in Gaza are an estimated 6,000 mothers leaving 19,000 children orphaned in addition to being the population Center Rafa is the primary humanitarian Hub of Gaza as I've said and the only remaining area of the bed strip with the infrastructure and the resources to host the over 1 million displaced Palestinians albe it in a situation that has been described by the UN as a pressure cooker of Despair but Rafa your excellencies is no refuge it's no safe place on 6th May Israeli forces ordered around 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate the Eastern portion of Rafa many were simply unable to flee children and elderly people are so starved that they can barely walk they cannot just relocate to another area to so-called safe zones it's just not possible and even for those who are able to leave they've nowhere left to go yet again Israel's use of evacuation orders and designation of humanitarian zones are purely performative they endanger rather than protect civilian life so-called humanitarian zones are not safe the zones are policed by the same Israeli forces who have attacked Palestinians in their homes in makeshift tents in public markets schools and playgrounds in agricultural green houses while waiting for Aid by Aid dropping from the sky while attempting to return to their homes despite waving White flags and above all else while Sheltering in and seeking treatment from hospitals Rafa as a place of Refuge or safety remains a cruel Distortion for another reason your excellencies for months Israel threatened to invade Rafa leading the UN Secretary General to warn that an assault on Rafa would be a political Calamity and a humanitarian nightmare which was also of course highlighted by this court in its decision of 16 February we are before this court urgently because Palestinians are now having to out that Nightmare on 7 may just 15 hours after the evacuation orders were issued Israel commenced a severe and sustained military assault on Rafa which is ongoing and it has intensified in the intervening period until today killing and injuring Palestinians and destroying their makeshift homes and the remaining infrastructure necessary to sustain life in Gaza including all Aid and medical infrastructure in its path Israel deliberately attacked the very shelters to which it directed Palestinians to flee so Palestinian families in Gaza are left to make an impossible choice either they stay trapped and likely killed alongside their loved ones in Rafa or they head out into the few bits of remaining land in Gaza now filling up with tents and Shacks built of bits of wood and nylon and vulnerable to attacks the overwhelming majority have no means to flee other than on foot there is nothing humanitarian about these humanitarian zones then on 11 May the Israeli military issued a new round of evacuation orders affecting some 34 neighborhoods in eastern Rafa and North Gaza un agencies estimate in total that approximately 20% of gaza's population have been displaced yet again in the past week alone by 10 May an estimated 110,000 people had fled Rafa by yesterday 15 may this number had increased to around 600,000 according to the UN and all the while and now by these actions Israel's genocide of Palestinians continues through military attacks and man-made starvation and while mocking this Court's provisional measures of protecting the rights of Palestinians under the genocide convention a critical part your excellencies of Israel def Israel's Defiance of this Court's orders comes in relation to Aid and food itself Israel has seized control of both the Rafa and the Kum Shalom Crossings taking total control of all entry and exit of people and goods into Gaza as a whole choking off the two main arteries for getting life-saving Aid to gaza's starving population and in so doing it has plunged Gaza into unprecedented levels of humanitarian need even as compared with the catastrophic levels of the previous 7 months that led this court to conclude that famine was setting in back in March the closure of The Crossings means that Palestinians Starving in a full-blown man-made famine are now further deprived of food where Israel's attacks have systematically decimated food production systems throughout Gaza it means that fuel cannot get in to run incubators and life-saving Machinery in hospitals water pumps and Wells it means that people including the chronically sick and injured cannot get out of Gaza and vital Aid cannot get into Gaza and this poses an overwhelmingly grave threat not only to the Palestinian people but also to United Nations personnel and Aid workers trying to bring some desperately needed relief despite Israel's announcements that it would open Kum Shalom on 8 May on 10 May the UN reported that no suppliers were passing through any Crossings in southern Gaza as of 15 May the rafing The rafha Crossing remains closed and there is a continued lack of safe and logistically viable access to the Kum Shalom crossing the crisis could not be more urgent and that is so where Israel's assaults on Raa and the closure of these critical Crossings are aggravating the famine likee conditions across Gaza where over a million people are predicted to face catastrophe IPC Phase 5 food insecurity levels through July which is just around the corner bakeries have been forced to shut down because they don't have fuel ongoing attacks in Rafa have rendered humanitarian warehouses inaccessible and responders providing food Aid will run out of food supplies within the coming days in addition to killing and harming Palestinians the Israeli assault on Raa has deliberately inflicted on them conditions of Life calculated to bring about their physical and biological destruction this is starkly Illustrated through Israel's destruction of Rafa's hospitals due to the ongoing hostilities in its vicinity and the military operation in Rafa the AL Nar Hospital the main medical facility in the entire Rafa government and one of gaza's large largest remaining partially functioning hospitals is no longer functional it was a Lifeline for 200 dialysis patients per day whom the World Health Organization previously warned would die if the hospital were to shut down fears for the AL emirati Hospital Hospital are also particularly acute this is one of the last partially functioning maternity hospitals in the Hall of Gaza which was until recently handling almost half of gaza's daily total of 180 births it has already been forced to stop admitting patients and Medics warn that without a doubt every single one of the 45 babies in the neonatal intensive care unit and the special intensive care unit will die if the hospital is occupied and then on 13 May medical staff at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafa received an evacuation order from Israeli forces as one of the L remaining hospitals in Rafa it had only around 16 beds available for the more than 1 million people Sheltering in Rafa and its closure will mean the complete collapse of what was the limping Health Care system in Rafa Mr President allow me to conclude Israel's ground incursion into Raa has been described by the United Nations as one of the darkest Mornings in this 7mon nightmare with Rafa's destruction ongoing as South Africa speaks to this court today the destruction of Gaza itself will be complete the change in the situation in Gaza and the new facts in Rafa that I've described demand the provisional measures that Miss neali will speak to the necessity could not be stalker the magnitude and the gravity of the situation facing the Palestinian people in Gaza now exemplified in Rafa South Africa has thus been motivated to come urgently to this court to prevent the destruction of the final Palestinian government of Gaza with its homes its hospitals its schools its libraries its businesses shelters its mosques to which Israel has not yet laid complete waste and South Africa has come as quickly as possible to the court to ensure that the exhausted Palestinian men women and children who have sought refuge in Rafa are protected from a blood bath and it is sought urg protective relief because of the now pressing need to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people in Gaza as a group and their protection from further harm starvation disease and death by Israel's closure of the Rafa and Kum Shalom Crossings fatally impacting the so desperately needed delivery of life-saving humanitarian Aid basic services and medical assistance across Gaza but Israel's genocidal acts in Rafa Mr President and distinguished members of the Court cannot be understood without appreciating the overall genocidal context in which Israel's Rafa operation is embedded my colleague Dr hasim will outline this along with the crippling effects of Rafa now inh Haring display across the Gaza Strip as a whole I thank you Mr President Professor Max for his statement I now give Lord to miss Adil you have the floor M Mr President members of the Court it is a privilege to appear again before you on behalf of South Africa but it's also tragic that we are back here four months after this Court first ordered provisional measures in this case against the state of Israel South Africa is compelled to appear before you with this urgent request for provisional measures in circumstances where the alarm sounded by the court on 28 March 2024 that quote all the indicators of genocidal activities are flashing red in Gaza end quote and in Raa in particular is sounding louder than ever before this is because Israel has defied every single provisional measure indicated by this court in its orders of 26 January and 28 March and in its decision of 16 February as I stand before you today Palestinians in Gaza are not safe they are not secure they are still being subjected to an ongoing and intensifying genocide at the hands of Israel their future hangs in the balance Mr dupy explained in his address the assault unfolding in Rafa the last area in Gaza in which Palestinian life can meaningfully be sustained The Assault on Rafa which has triggered this application is inextricably linked to the ongoing genocidal conduct being committed across Gaza Mr President I place before the court again a map of Gaza I remind the court that Gaza is a narrow strip of land of approximately 365 square kilometers it is just 6 kilm wide the length from top to bottom is just 44 kilm which is about the distance between this court and skipple airport in South African terms this is even less than the distance between Johannesburg and Petoria Rafa lies in the south of Gaza with an area of approximately 60 square kilm this time last year Rafa was home to around 275,000 Palestinians as a result of Israel's Onslaught and its evacuation orders covering more than 34s of gaza's total territory 1.2 million additional Palestinians fled into Rafa under order of Israel as a place of last Refuge now Israel has issued further evacuation orders directing Palestinians to leave Rafa in just the past week 600,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee from Rafa but with nowhere to go there is a total collapse of infrastructure of Sanitation of water of food supply in short the conditions necessary to sustain life for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza the picture on the screen shows Palestinians last month starting to return to their homes after Israel's withdrawal of its occupation of K on Unice as we can all see there is nothing left Israel's most recent actions in Rafa bring its coordinated plan aimed at the distu destruction of the essential foundations of Palestinian life in Gaza into horrifying Focus we are in the final stages of that coordinated plan where the different actions of Israel to use Lenin's terminology the systematic disintegration of the political and social institutions and the economic existence of national groups and the destruction of the personal security Liberty Health dignity and even the lives of Palestinians have led to the present precipice Israel has the power over each and every Palestinian man woman and child in Gaza to determine if they live or how they die history warns us what happens next we cannot simply stand by waiting for that to happen again it is not possible to recount every story of every Palestinian who is suffering at the hands of Israel's Relentless genocidal campaign indeed this court has held in Bosnian genocide that quote it is sufficient to examine those facts that would illuminate the question of intent or illustrate the claim by the applicant of a pattern of Acts committed against members of the group such as to lead to an inference from such pattern of the existence of a specific intent end quote in these submissions I show that Israel's genocidal acts against Palestinians in Rafa form part of a continuing escalating pattern of conduct across Gaza that provides persuasive and consistent evidence of Israel's genocidal conduct in light of these new facts South Africa seeks an order from the court the only order that will clearly protect what is left of Palestinian life in Gaza it seeks an explicit order that Israel cease its militaries military activities not only in Rafa but throughout Gaza turning then to the genocidal acts in my remaining time before you I will highlight the following features of the genocidal campaign by Israel first Israel has continued to kill Palestinians in Gaza including women and children at an alarming rate second as a result of Israel's Onslaught Palestinians in Gaza are facing what the under Secretary General of the UN has described as the worst humanitarian crisis he has seen for more than 50 years third Israel's systematic targeting and bombardment of hospitals and medical facilities and its throttling of humanitarian Aid has pushed gaza's medical system to collapse fourth Israel's direct attack and Siege of gaza's biggest hospitals has led to the uncovering of mass Graves evidencing Israeli massacres of Palestinians seeking shelter and medical treatment finally most recently Israel has intensified its attacks in the north while pressing on with its rougher offensive leaving displaced Palestinians nowhere safe to go I will take these in turn the first feature of the genocidal conduct killing since South Africa appeared before the court on 11 January 2024 at least 11,500 Palestinians have been directly killed by Israel the majority of these casualties are women and children in an enclave where nearly 50% of the population are children this Onslaught has occurred despite the binding orders issued by this court and The Binding Security Council resolution on 25 March 2024 demanding an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan in fact as UNICEF pointed out a double digigit number of children were killed within hours of that resolution two mothers and four children are killed every hour unra head phip lazarini says there are no words left that can do any justice to the people of Gaza the numbers of dead and injured defy comprehension at least 35,000 Palestinians killed and 79,000 injured with 10,000 more reportedly missing or under the rubble up to 1.7 million displaced most multiple times and More than 70% of all housing stock in Gaza and more than 80% in parts of Northern Region damaged or destroyed the second feature is a humanitarian catastrophe Israel's coordinated plan in Gaza has resulted in a humanitarian crisis the crisis that this court warned about in January February and in March what Palestinians in Gaza face has been described as quote apocalyptic levels of pain and Injustice given that food and other vital Aid cannot get in and people including the chronically sick and injured cannot get out end quote these apocalyptic conditions look set to worsen with Israel's ongoing attacks on the North middle and South will full with full-blown famine in the north moving its way south and where Israel's blockade on food Fuel and medical supplies continue gaza's children have suffered particularly severely more than 14,000 have been killed thousands more have been injured or lost family members while an estimate 177,000 children are unaccompanied or separated nearly all of gaza's children have been exposed to traumatic experiences the consequences of which will last a lifetime make no mistake these conditions are a direct result of Israel's military Onslaught on The besieged Enclave with full knowledge of the destructive consequences of this humanitarian crisis in these circumstances in these circumstances the thwarting of humanitarian Aid cannot be seen as anything but the deliber snuffing out of Palestinian lives starvation to the point of famine obstructing Aid in the face of famine and killing of at least 200 Aid workers for the Court's previous orders to be effective for the provision of humanitarian Aid urgently and at scale Israel has to be ordered to stop its military offensive the third feature of genocidal conduct relates to the crippling of gaza's medical system Israel's offensive on Rafa has further reduced Access to Health Care in an already decimated Health System only two out of 36 hospitals are located within the So-Cal called humanitarian area designated by Israel in just 6 days between 6 and 12 May Medan s Frontier recorded that it was forced to suspend its life sustaining activities at Al shabura Clinic hand over its activities at Al emirati hospital and was forced to close its activities in Rafa Indonesian field Hospital as it could not guarantee the security and safety of patients and staff with the ongoing offensive The Assault on healthc care within Rafa is the culmination of a pattern of attacks on Healthcare Services in Gaza through which the main hospitals across Gaza have completely stopped functioning after Israel's military assault pardon me after Israel um military seized the Rafa and Kem Shalom Crossings last week and prohibited the importation of lifegiving fuel to hospitals on 13 May the European Gaza Hospital completely ran out of fuel and experienced a total blackout without fuel hospitals cannot sustain incubators respirat ators and life-saving Machinery healthc care in Gaza is crippled by shortages of food fuel oxygen medicines and anesthetics the obstetric and maternity health system in Gaza is virtually non-existent and every functioning medical facility is overwhelmed with patients babies continue to die of malnutrition and St ation nor is there any Escape medical evacuations are impossible Israel has seized control of all entry and exit points into and out of Gaza trapping an already suffering population and inflicting conditions of Life calculated to bring about Palestinians physical and biological destruction in clear violation of Article 2 C of the genocide convention the fourth feature of genocidal conduct is the discovery of mass graves in its targeted attack on hospitals Israel has killed hundreds of civilians including doctors and medical staff turning centers built for healing into Mass Graves full of the decomposing bodies of men women and children on 10 April a un Inspection Team reported that KH Unice was reduced to rubble and dirt and rures discovered ghastly scenes of Unearthed Mass Graves containing the massacred bodies of the elderly women children and men at al- Nasa Hospital blue scrubs reportedly still clothed the dead bodies of medical staff many were decapitated 324 decomposing bodies were discovered many stripped and handcuffed of these only 42 were identified another 30 bodies were discovered in two Mass graves in alifa hospital with only 12 bodies identified prompting the UN Secretary General to call for the immediate access of independent investigators these bodies included women and children with many reportedly showing signs of torture and summary executions the recent discovery of multiple Mass Graves Israel's ongoing Chokehold on information coming out of Gaza and complete refusal to allow independent investigators in means that we will not know how many Palestinians have been killed by Israel's military campaign for some time if at all and only if the evidence is not obliterated by Israel's ongoing military operations in what commissioner vulka Turk describes as the prevailing climate of impunity it is for this reason that South Africa seeks an order requiring Israel to facilitate the unimpeded access into Gaza of fact-f finding missions officials investigators and journalists the fifth feature of genocidal conduct relates to Israel's intensified attacks in the North during the past week while our eyes and attention were drawn to the horrific acts unfolding in Rafa Israeli t tanks rolled again into Northern Gaza an area that Israel reported that it had cleared many months ago on 11 May Israel issued evacuation orders over 22 neighborhoods in jabalia in Northern Gaza at least 100,000 people in the north have been forced to flee their devastated homes that same day that same day of the evacuation orders Israel began a Relentless assault on Northern Gaza killing Palestinian families in their homes and children near the Toba mosque within the jabalia refugee camp journalists report that they have no idea about the number of people killed in North Gaza for the past day as Medics are unable to move due to the heavy bombing many people are still trapped under the rubble waiting for rescue but no one is able to move under the Rains of bombs as I stand before you Mr President it continues on 14 and 15 may just yesterday and the day before yesterday the Israeli military issued two new sets of evacuation Ord ERS for all or part of 19 neighborhoods in Northern Gaza displacing even more Palestinians in search of safety Mr President these are the credible facts Israel will no doubt once again deny and cast aspersions on the information presented by South African and provided by the UN and other International actors including those this court itself has relied on it will do so while continuing to systematically attack all independent sources of information about what is taking place in Gaza and refuse International investigators and journalists entry into Gaza having denied access to Gaza and attempted to discredit all other sources of information Israel is then free to portray a picture of Gaza radically at odds with all other accounts just yesterday the prime minister's office proclaimed that quote the humanitarian catastrophe that has been spoken of has not been realized nor nor will it end quote a bold denial of the findings of un experts and other independent agencies such as the IPC as this court pointed out the IPC is a global Partnership of organizations including amongst others the world food program the food and agriculture organization of the UN and the World Health Organization ultimately Israel says only what suits them only if and when it suits them not withstanding the facts on the ground that have been presented here today despite the court providing Israel with an opportunity to respond to South Africa's current request Israel has failed to submit a response in conclus usion Mr President members of the Court the risks to the people of Gaza are imminent irreparable and rapidly increasing this risk gives rise to the necessity for the remedy that we seek in this application a remedy that will end Israel's genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza all of what I have described must stop Israel Must Be Stopped South Africa is before you again today to respectfully ask the court to invoke its powers under article 752 of the rules of the court to order a remedy that will stop Israel Mr President that concludes my submissions on the genocidal conduct I thank you for your patient attention and I ask that you call Mr Nuka toi to the podium to address the court on genocidal intent thank you I thank massim for statement I now give the floor to Mr tbea gaii you have the floor sir [Music] Mr President and members of the Court it is a privilege to appear on behalf of South Africa today's request for the indication of further provisional measures and or the modification of the existing measures has been triggered by the military assault of Israel on Rafa which began on the 6th and 7th of May 2024 and has intensified and escalated since as shown by Mr dup C and miss hassim the military attack is genocidal in its pattern I shall demonstrate that it is also consistent with the explicit stated and continuing genocidal intent of the state of Israel firstly to the knowledge of Israel Rafa is the last Refuge of of Gaza the only remaining area in the Gaza Strip which has not been substantially destroyed by Israel the only area that can host displaced people the only remaining Center of humanitarian Aid and the host to one of the few remaining large hospitals across the entirety of Gaza Rafa is the last stage of the total annihilation of Palestinian life without raer the possibility to rebuild and reconstruct Palestinian life will be lost forever for Palestinians to continue to exist as a protected group under the genocide convention they need a place from which to rebuild as we stand here today Rafa is that place The Last Stand secondly Israel also knows of explicit warnings about the genocidal consequences of an attack in Rafa on 6 May 2024 the director general of the World Health Organization warned that a full military incursion into Rafa will plunge the crisis into unprecedented levels of humanitarian need on 8 May 2024 2 days after the military attack had begun he stressed that one of the three hospitals in Rafa Al naar was no longer functioning due to the ongoing hostilities in its vicinity and the military operation in Rafa since the Border was closed the United Nations was prevented from bringing fuel without which all humanitarian operations would stop Martin Griffiths the United Nations relief Chief has rang alarm Bells he has warned that the simplest truth is that a ground operation in Rafa will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words no humanitarian plan can counter that the rest is detail Palestinians do not need any more diplomatic gesturing no more abstract words no more virtuous condemnations and den denunciations of Israel's actions there is no more time to spare it is simply Now or Never Israel has knowledge of the pronouncements I have cited above after all each of them was made publicly thirdly the state of Israel knows of the decisions of this court which bear on it as a state party to the genocide convention directly and require of it to respect its obligations under the convention and the moral and legal authority of this court the decision of this court on 26 January 2024 noted that the civilian population in the Gaza Strip is extremely vulnerable and that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is at serious risk of deteriorating further before this court renders its final judgment bearing this in mind the court recognized that the military operation conducted by Israel after 7 October 2023 has resulted in eara in terms of of thousands of deaths and injuries and the destruction of homes schools medical facilities and other vital infrastructure as well as displacement on a massive scale in light of this situation Israel was ordered to ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts that fall within article two of the genocide convention one of the measures indicated expressly required of Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip in the decision of 16 February 2024 this court was compelled to demand that Israel immediately and effectively implements the Court's order of 26 January 2024 this court cautioned that the most recent developments in the Gaza Strip and in Rafa in particular would exponentially increased what is already a humanitarian nightmare with Untold Regional consequences in the order of 28 March 2024 this court observed with regret the existence of exceptionally grave circumstances since its order of 26 January 2024 and its decision of 16 February 2024 that the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had deteriorated further in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities to which the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been subjected the court issued its orders clearly highlighting the worsening conditions of Life faced by Palestinians in Gaza Israel was ordered to ensure with immediate effect that its military through any action does not commit acts which violate the rights of Palestinians under the genocide convention so far Mr President what I have said is not inference not imputation it is direct knowledge which Bears on the state of Israel its political leaders and the members of its army they know about Rafa and its centrality to the sustainance of Palestinian life at the present moment they know the views of the organs of the United Nations about the consequences of a milit military attack on Rafa they know what this court has ordered on each of the three occasions I have reference yet Israel's leaders have continued to incite genocide and to express their own genocidal intent in doing so not only has Israel ignored its obligations as a state party to the genocide convention it has also treated this court with contempt and threatened the rule of law let me demonstrate this members of the Israeli ministerial committee on National Security Affairs and the war cabinet have simply continued with incitement to genocide first the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin nany who is a member of the war cabinet and the security cabinet has gone beyond any reference to Hamas alone instead he has described Israel's a in the military assault as being to ensure that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel he describes Israel's objective as being to achieve total victory underscoring that no force in the world will stop us we will stand alone emphasizing that Israel will fight will fight with his fingernails second the Israeli Minister of Defense yav Galant a member of both the war cabinet and the security cabinet has made it clear that Israel is taking apart neighborhood after neighborhood and will reach every location in Gaza third the isra Israeli minister of finance bezalel smotrich a member of the security cabinet has asserted in terms there are no half measures Rafa de albala nerat total inhalation he goes on to say we are negotiating with the ones that should not have existed for a long time for Israeli members of cabinet it is as if there is no court order which binds them they are not the only ones regrettably in an interview broadcast on Israeli television on 3 May 2024 the vice chair of the inter International arm of the liquid party the party to to which the Israeli Prime Minister belongs stated I think we needed to invade Rafa yesterday to go in and to get them they are no uninvolved we need to go in and kill and kill and kill we need to kill them before they kill us taking their queue from the politicians the Israeli Army officials have followed suit in entrenching the incitement to genocide and showing their contempt for this court the Israeli Army Chief of Staff leftenant General HEI halevi stated following the Israeli Army Siege and destruction of alifa Hospital in March 2024 here is the realization of an impressive strategy there is a very very important message here a hospital is not a safe place he described the operation as a very high achievement that is notwithstanding eyewitness reports of hundreds of civilians having been killed by Israeli troops in the hospital including patients shot dead in their hospital beds M Graves and hundreds of Palestinian bodies were found following the withdrawal of the Israeli Army from alifa hospital including bodies with canulas in their arms some with their limbs tied Brigadier General David bar Khalifa commander of the 36th armed division of the Israeli Army issued a letter to Israeli soldiers about to deploy in Gaza exalting them to continue the killing of Palestinians what has been will be no more we shall go out to it in war we shall pulverize every ACC cast plot of land from which it came we shall destroy it and the memory of it Brigadier Khalifa has faced no investigations nor has he been relieved of his command this is despite the explicit order of this court for investigations into cases of incitement to genocide badia Khalifa was in fact promoted to the rank of major and the head of the Israel Army Personnel division similarly when 130 senior officers in is in the Israeli Army penned a letter calling on Israel's war cabinet to not allow humanitarian suppliers supplies and the operation of hospitals in Gaza they were not charged with incitement or prosecuted one of the officers would later be named as involved in the killing of world Central kitchen workers genocidal rhetoric is not punished but rewarded by the Israeli government on 6 March 2024 reservist first sergeant Yashin a veteran from the April 1948 D Yasin Massacre of at least 250 Palestinians was rewarded with a certificate of thanks and commemoration by the Israeli president for his motivational speeches he gave to Israeli soldiers as they prepared for the ground invasion of Gaza in October 2023 in at least one of those speeches he had said he raised the memory of them he raised them their families mothers and children these animals can no longer live in his speech at the award ceremony Israeli president hok told the senior reservists including Ezra yakin that you have been a tremendous personal example for generations of Israel citizens and the whole world and I want to on behalf of all the Israeli people to say to you thank you in their destruction of Rafa Israeli soldiers deployed to Gaza continue to invoke the prime minister's speeches which are themselves genocidal in case what I've said is not clear enough let us hear them in their own words for [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the destruction of Gaza and Palestinian life is understood by commanders and soldiers as the video shows an Israeli soldier from the 9203 Battalion commented as follows on photographs and footage he posted online of Palestinian homes and neighborhoods in canun completely destroyed by the Israeli Army this year we were honored to fulfill the command of the annihilation of amalec and may we finish the job such language continues to be widespread alongside calls by Israeli soldiers on the ground to conquer Gaza to flatten Gaza to erase Gaza to destroy Gaza and after after that ramala also Israeli soldiers serving in Gaza continue to openly call for the deaths to Arabs declaring may you burn alive that Gaza is burning that we will burn your mother and that all of saaya will burn in Flames the aims of Israel is to do no less than what it own Minister of Finance has stated that is to ensure the total annihilation of Palestinians that will erase the memory of amalik he has also called for Rafa to be completely conquered and the sooner the better Israel's genocidal intent continues to receive support and endorsement at the nesset as t clib a member of the nesset and the prime minister's party has stated to attack Rafa as we attacked in the northern strip unlike the responder intentionally not specifically addressing but rather the entire Rafa system to attack mercilessly from the air instead of turning an eye to the hag Court turn an eye to the people of Israel public statements such as this show that even members of the Israeli parliament are are fully aware of the orders of this court but have continued to openly incite genocide without censure such sentiments are also widely expressed across Israeli Society many Israelis including Israelis living in illegal settlements in the West Bank have actioned statements by government officials calling for the denial of Aid to Gaza by destroying food Aid on its way including setting trucks on fire putting sugar in tanks and destroying the food itself Israeli public officials including singers inciting to genocide in Gaza have had their incitement rewarded one singer who popularized and adapted to Israel's current military operations in Gaza the racist Israel football chant mayor Village ban changed it to May Gaza be erased and singing it to Israeli soldiers in live performances was presented with a certificate of appreciation for his work for the IDF soldiers during the war by the deputy speaker of nesset hosted by Israel's minister of social equality and the advancement of women another singer referenced by South Africa before this court in the January 2024 application for his call to erase Gaza and not to leave a single person there has similarly been rewarded both were brought to the attention of Israeli authorities in South Africa's application and pleadings before this court neither of them nor any of the other Israeli officials and civilians inciting to genocide against the Palestinians have been prosecuted much less punished the genocidal acts described in South Africa's application were foreseen and foreseeable from the onset Israel's intent was always to destroy Palestinian life and to wipe them off the face of the Earth Rafa is the final stand without Rafa there is no there is no more Palestinian life in Gaza to speak of no more Palestinian identity and no possibility of reconstruction Mr President the rule of law can only survive through the orders of this court if the rule of law is to have any meaning let it be today and with this case it is no longer enough to order unhindered access to humanitarian Aid when it is in fact the military operation in Gaza that is preventing it it is no longer enough to encourage compliance with the perimet precepts of the genocide convention when Israel's deliberate contempt for the international rule of law has been so plain and so public Mr President it is now my honor to call upon Miss Blen nior to address the court on the remedies we ask for and why this C can and should Grant the I thank Mr for his statement EX B [Music] IM Mr President members of the Court there is an urgent need for further or modified explicit and specific provisional measures to protect the Palestinians in Gaza from the irreparable Prejudice caused by Israel's continuing violations of the genocide convention and of this Court's orders including an Express order for the immediate cessation of Israel's military operations in Rafa and across the whole of the gala strip the change in circumstances and new facts demand it the extreme risk of irreparable prejudice require it Israel's approach to the Court's previous orders renders it imperatively urgent the court has the power to do it and our shared Humanity compels it turning to each of those five propositions in turn first the change in the situation amounting to new facts demands the indication of further or modified explicit and specific provisional measures when South Africa appeared before you on the 11th of January urgently requesting then an order for the cessation of Israel's military activ operations humanitarians were already out of words to Des describe the situation in Gaza today they say there are quote no words left that can do any justice to the people of Gaza tens of thousands of Palestinians have since been killed or injured including one child killed or wounded every 10 minutes since Israel's military operations began including an almost incomprehensible number of child amputees since March in particular hundreds and thousands of of Palestinians particularly the young elderly and vulnerable are dying or at risk of dying of communicable diseases and and infections that are running Rife due to the rising temperatures in ever more crowded living conditions amidst mountains of waste fly and mosquito infestations and raw sewage flowing in the bombed out streets since the Court's last order entire hospitals places of learning and healing including Al shifa Hospital older than the state of Israel itself have been destroyed and turned into SES of horror and mass death gaz's devoted and steadfast doctors and Medics have been killed and buried in Mass Graves alongside the patients they risked and ultimately gave their lives to care for the same fate now awaits Rafa's remaining hospitals doctors and Medics Israel's attack on Rafa its attempt to control all of gaza's borders followed by attacks on the North and the middle areas in recent days which are of unprecedented violence even amid the horrors horrors of the past 7even months Herald a turning point Beyond which there is no going back which is reflected in what H calls and I quote a new level of desperation in Gaza as this court has heard this is in effect the endgame for Gaza and for its Palestinian people unfolding under the world's watch this may well be the last chance for the court to act to ensure their survival second the extreme risks of irreparable prejudice demand the indication of further or modified explicit and specific provisional measures the situation in Gaza could not be more urgent as reflected in the increase in Palestinian fatalities and injuries since the last the Court's last order and the spreading famine and disease acts susceptible of causing irreparable Prejudice can plainly occur at any moment before the court makes a final decision on this case demanding the indication of further or modified explicit specific provisional measures to protect the rights found by this court to be plausible in Rafa in particular in addition to the widespread risk of violent death and injury facing the terrified population of displaced Palestinians as the court has heard dialysis patients and premature bab babies face immediate risk of death some 1.2 million Palestinians will be deprived of access to health care if its hospitals are rendered inoperable the level of Destruction that Israel has caused across Gaza and is now wreaking on Rafa threatens the very survival of future Palestinian Generations in Gaza recent evidence from a former Israeli reservist active in Gaza indicates that soldiers on the ground treat Israeli ordered evacuation areas such as those recently ordered for significant parts of Rafa and Northern Gaza as extermination zones wherein orders to shoot and kill Palestinians are made on the base of their of their location alone this in itself demonstrates the extreme risk to the right of the Palestinians in Gaza not to be subjected to acts of genocide as does the decision by Israel to deploy 2,000 so-called dumb bombs in ever more densely populated areas in the stated quote interest of saving more expensive armaments the routine repeated authorization of the killing in one strike of hundreds of Palestinian civilians men women children babies the elderly and infirm in order to kill a single individual believed to be a senior Hamas Commander is yet further evidence of that risk so too are the repeated and routine authorizations for tens of Palestinians to be killed when Israel is bombing so-called low-level targets so apparently lowlevel as to be nicknamed garbage targets it is also now now clear that Israel is heavily relying on artificial intelligence in identifying which Palestinians in Gaza are to live and to die one such system appears to function as a form of Target machine generating so-called kill lists of Palestinians selected for execution on bases as tenuous as being in a WhatsApp group with another identified Target another is the chillingly named where's Daddy surveillance and tracking system specifically intended to Target those marked for execution when they're at home with their families the mounting evidence is that Israel's very interpretation of its Rules of Engagement and of the application of fundamental concepts of international humanitarian law including distinction proportionality necessity and the Very concepts of safe zones and warnings is in fact itself genocidal placing Palestinians at particular extreme risk third Israel's contempt and willful disregard of the Court's orders highlight the urgent need for further or modified provisional measures in the most explicit terms in refusing Israel's request to reject South Africa's claim and in indicating nine provisional measures against Israel the court found that Israel's conduct in Gaza gave rise to a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice would be caused to the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from violations of the Gen of the genocide convention a risk which is now even more acute the Court's orders created International legal obligations binding on Israel to change its conduct in Gaza the court made clear in February that those obligations require isra Israel quote to ensure the safety and security of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip end quote Israel manifestly cannot ensure the safety and security of the Palestinian population in Gaza while besieging bombing starving torturing and executing them in its March order the court took note of United Nations assessments United Nations assessments that the catastrophic humanitarian situation can only be addressed if the military operations in the Gaza Strip are suspended yet Israel has ratcheted up its gener genocidal military campaign entering Rafa the last refuge for so many displaced Palestinians in Gaza Israel has in parallel reportedly Justified its continuing military operations on the asserted basis that quote there is no order forbidding us from doing something we're doing today and the fighting will continue as usual indeed Israel has gone so far as to claim that the court orders are a significant success on the grounds that the court I quote rejected South Africa's Central request to stop the fighting in Gaza the Court's reluctance to date to order directly and explicitly that Israel cease its military operations in Gaza in order to give effect to the provisional measures indicated by the court relying instead on NE necessary implication has cynically been used by Israel as cover for its conduct Israel continues to kill and harm Palestinians in Gaza in violation of the Court's orders while its soldiers and political leaders alike continue to publicly Express Clear genocidal intent towards them it is self-evident that the provisional measures indicated in the Court's previous orders quote do not fully address the consequences arising from from the changes in the situation that now pertain the severity of the situation involving horrific human suffering mandates that the court make explicit that which was implicit in its previous orders and that it now order Israel to cease its military operations in unequivocal Express terms nothing else will suffice in its March order in light of what the court found to be quote the worsening conditions of Life faced by Palestinians in Gaza the court placed a heightened obligation on Israel not only to enable the provision of humanitarian assistance but to ensure it in light of Israel's abject failure to even meet the lower threshold of enabling Aid and the ever worsening conditions of Life faced by Palestinians in Gaza following Israel seizure of the Rafa crossing the court must at least modify its provisional measures in order to leave leave no doubt as to what is required of Israel and to give full effect to its previous provisional measures as the world food program has made clear I quote the United Nations and its Partners have the means to scale up to all 2.2 million people in Gaza but only if a humanitarian ceasefire happens further given Israel's manifest failure to ensure the preservation of in Gaza the recent repeated Grim discoveries of mass Graves and what the United Nations has called quote the prevailing climate of impunity in Israel Israel must be ordered to immediately take all effective measures to ensure the access of persons able to investigate ongoing atrocities the measure is critical not just to preserving the rights of Palestinians in South Africa in these proceedings or indeed to the Court's ability to excise ier its own judicial functions appropriately rather as a spokesperson for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for human rights recently stated these violations should not get forgotten about they need to be recorded they need to be reported widely by the media they need to result in pressure from member states that do have leverage over the parties to the conflict to bring such violations to an end they need to be recorded So that investigations can do take place and ultimately there is accountability and the cycle of impunity does not continue over and over and over again fourth the court has the power to modifiy or make an explicit order for Israel to cease its military operations in Rafa and in Gaza more broadly and to withdraw from the Gaza Strip the court is empowered and indeed compelled given the prevailing catastrophic situation in G to order an Express end to Israel's military activities that is the only measure now capable of preventing irreparable Prejudice to the fundamental rights in issue and of ensuring compliance with the Court's orders the fact that such an order would be directed at Israel alone is no bar to the court ordering it that is for at least three reasons one article 41 of the Court's statute empowers the court to indicate any provisional measures that quote ought to be taken to preserve the respective rights of either party if it considers that the circumstances so require article 41 does not require reciprocity there is no need for an order to be made against both parties two the genocide convention itself is no bar to a one-sided cessation order on the contrary the absolute prohibition on genocide applies in both non- International armed conflicts as indeed the ter able of examples Rwanda and darur make clear just as an international armed conflict between two states it applies where only one belligerent is a party to the genocide convention just as it as it applies where all of them are it applies regardless of any claims of self-defense which can never constitute a justification for genocide and indeed it applies in peace just as much as in war and that is because the prohibition on genocide is focused on the absolute in Alien rights of groups of peoples to be protected from genocide no matter the underlying circumstances or putative justifications it makes no sense whatsoever to suggest that the court could not order a state party to the genocide convention to suspend its military operations against a non-state actor in order to prevent genocide unless the non-state actor was itself disarmed indeed it would be contrary to the very objectives of the genocide convention which the court described over 70 years ago as having been adopted for a purely humanitarian and civilizing purpose it would similarly be nonsensical if in a claim under the genocide convention the court could order one party to cease its military operations when that party was not even alleged to be committing genocide as in Ukraine and Russia but could not hear when the court has itself determined a real and imminent risk to the right of a national racial or ethnical group not to be be subjected to acts of genocide the evidence before the court indicates that the extent of the Carnage in Gaza is of a much greater magnitude than that that pertained in Ukraine and Russia indeed the Carnage in Gaza is of an order which exceeds by far the necessities of War and the limits imposed by the laws of War as stated by the United Nations High Commissioner for High Commissioner for human rights what Israel is doing is quote Beyond Warfare not only is the court empowered to call for it to end it is Duty bound to do so third the fact that the United Nations security Council could itself order a cessation of hostilities in Gaza is no bar to the Court's exercise of its own powers in this regard notably the distinct and vital role the court was intended to play in preventing genocide was pointedly foreshadowed by the United Nations delegation to the negotiations leading to the very creation of the genocide convention the United n States delegate com commented that if cases of genocide were brought before the security Council the whole question of the veto would be involved States might try to avoid submitting their disputes to the international court of justice where they would be settled on Purely legal grounds and might instead submit them to the security Council where they would be settled on political grounds in circumstances such as this where the veto power has been wielded such devastating effect against the Palestinian people the indispensable role of a court in ensuring the universal application of the genocide convention its prohibitions and its protections to All Peoples equally cannot be overstated as noted by the court in indicating provisional measures in March the security council's then operative ceasefire resolution quote demanded an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire as underscored by the president of the Court the March provisional measures could I quote only take full effect end quote if the ceasefire was respected no such resolution is in place the court must itself therefore create the circumstances necessary for its provisional measures to take full effect it must order Israel to cease its military operations Fifth and finally our shared Humanity compels the indication of further or modified explicit provision or measures as recently stated by the United Nations assistant gener Secretary General for humanitarian Affairs quote the war in Gaza has entered yet another horrifying phase Gaza is now a hellscape for Millions trapped under incessant bombardment where those who have escaped death and injury now risk losing their lives because of a lack of food safe water medicine and health care Gaza has in her words become a moral stain on the conscience of our Collective Humanity I conclude with a slide it reports an account of a doctor's recent experience in a hospital in Gaza following his departure from the scrip the strip he says this describing one of the patients there there was the man in his 50s forgotten in a room having had both legs amputated he had lost his kids his grandkids his home and he's alone in the corner of this dark Hospital maggots going out of his wounds and he was screaming the worms are eating me alive please help me that was just one out of I don't know I just stopped counting because those are the people I think of because they're still there that sums up what Gaz is today it's people severely wounded with life altering disabling injuries bereaved of their entire families homeless alone trapped without electricity or even basic health care 7 months later after two orders from this court they are still there inuring this horror they are crying out for help an order for an immediate cessation of Israel's military operations in Gaza is now their only hope enough is enough South South Africa cannot but reiterate its respectful and humble call on this court to do what is in its power to do what the drafter of the genocide convention called on it to do what our shared Humanity compels it to do to listen to that desperate Cry for Help from Gaza and to order Israel to withdraw from Gaza and to cease fire I thank um Miss garle for her statement I now give the floor back to Mr Ambassador you have the floor ex Mr President distinguished members of the Court it is my honor to deliver to your excellencies the final provisional measures that South Africa requests from this court the exponential gravity of the situation in Gaza has already demanded that South Africa return to this court on four consecutive occasions calling for provisional measures to stop the destruction of Gaza on a scale not witnessed since World War II and epitomy by the most unbearable human suffering willfully ignoring the previous provisional measures Israel is acting with complete impunity in Gaza escalating hostilities in a final wave of a politic disruption from which there is no return there is a danger which stems from a form of Amnesia and denial by former Colonial powers in relation to the crimes associated with Colonial violence perpetrated against indigenous peoples this includes the denial of genocide this denial is clearly at play in Palestine Israel is a settler Colonial apartate regime and the current government is now being accused of engaging in genocide this accusation is not being leveled at any people based on their ethnicity nationality or confessional preference rather it is being leveled at those political and military leaders who have dehumanized the Palestinian people through genocidal rhetoric as human animals encouraging their killing and destruction it is leveled against a state whose leaders are openly calling for a second knock bar shielded by International impunity which has enabled the perpetuation of Decades of generational violence and systematic oppression against the Palestinian people to maintain the domination and the expansion of the settler colonial state as a matter of extreme agency South Africa as a state party to the convention on the prevention and Punishment of the crime of genocide respectfully request the court to indicate the following provisional measures the text of which has been amended to reflect the ever increasing gravity of the situation South Africa respectfully requests the court to order the state of Israel as a state party to the genocide convention and as a party to these proceedings two one immediately and further to its obligations under the Court's previous orders of 26 January 202 4 and 28th March 2024 seized its military operations in the Gaza Strip including in Rafa governor and withdraw from the Rafa Crossing and immediately totally and unconditionally withdraw Israeli arm army from the entirety of the Gaza Strip two immediately and further to its obligations under the provisional measure for of the Court's 26 January 2024 order and provisional measures 2A and 2B of the Court's uh decision of March uh 2024 take all effective measures to ensure and facilitate the unimpeded access to Gaza of United Nations and other official engaged officials engaged in the provision of humanitarian Aid and assistance to the population of Gaza as well as fact finding missions internationally mandated bodies and or officials investigators and journalists in order to access and record conditions on the ground in Gaza enable and enable the effective preservation and retention of evidence and ensure that its military does not act to prevent such access provision preservation or reten ION three submit an open report to the court a on all measures taken to give effect to these provisional measures within one week as from the date of this order and B on all measures taken to give effect to All Pro uh previous provisional measures indicated by the court within one month as from the dates of this order Mr Pres president distinguished members of the Court this concludes South Africa's pleading I thank you for your kind attention I also thank the registry its staff and the interpreters for their invaluable assistance finally my thanks also go to the South African team thank you very much I thank the agent of South Africa whose statement brings to an end the single round of oral arguments of South Africa as well as this afternoon sitting the court will meet again tomorrow Friday May 17 at 10:00 a.m. to hear the state of Israel present its single round of oral argument the sitting is adjured

Channel: United Nations

Views: 60,625

Keywords: UN, United Nations, UNGA, UN General Assembly, General Debate, Naciones Unidas, Организация Объединенных Наций, OOH, Nations Unies, 联合国, الأمم المتحدة, The Global Goals, Sustainable Development Goals, Human Rights, UN Peacekeepers, Security Council, World Leaders, l'Assemblée générale, Генеральной Ассамблеи, La Asamblea General, international court of justice, south africa, south africa icj, south africa israel, gaza news, israel gaza war

Id: O_loqkRc8ns

Length: 136min 56sec (8216 seconds)

Published: Thu May 16 2024