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While South African legal researchers were in an undisclosed location last week, racing against time to finalize hundreds of pages of evidence proving Israel\u2019s intent to commit genocide in Gaza, in Israel, leaders gathering near the Gaza border were calling for the besieged and bombarded Strip to be emptied of Palestinians.<\/p>\n
During the \u201cpreparing to settle Gaza\u201d conference, held at a restricted military zone in Be\u2019eri last Monday, Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was recorded calling for the \u201cmigration\u201d of Gaza\u2019s current inhabitants, and the possibility of future Israeli settlement expansion there \u2013 something considered illegal under international law.<\/p>\n
\u201c[We will] tell them, \u2018we are giving you the chance, leave from here to other countries\u2019,\u201d Ben-Gvir said, while Israeli forces continued their more than yearlong bombardment of Gaza. \u201cThe Land of Israel is ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
South African diplomats assert that statements like these offer undeniable evidence of Israel\u2019s genocidal intent \u2013 something they must prove before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in an ongoing case.<\/p>\n
Monday (October 28) was the deadline for South Africa to submit a detailed memorial against Israel to the ICJ, lawyers and diplomats told Al Jazeera. Its legal submission aims to definitively establish that Israel\u2019s military actions in Gaza amount to genocide.<\/p>\n
Despite new evidence emerging daily, senior South African officials instructed the legal team to stick to what they had already collected to meet the approaching deadline.<\/p>\n
The legal team is however confident that the hundreds of pages of evidence are more than enough to sustain their case.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem we have is that we have too much evidence,\u201d Ambassador Vusimuzi Madonsela, South Africa\u2019s representative to The Hague, explained to Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
Zane Dangor, the director-general of South Africa\u2019s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said: \u201cThe legal team will always say we need more time, there\u2019s more facts coming. But we have to say you have to stop now. You [have] got to focus on what you have.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 500-page South African legal submission aims to expose a pattern of mass casualties in Gaza, where almost 43,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, which South African officials argue exceeds any proportional military response to Hamas\u2019s attacks on October 7 last year.<\/p>\n
South Africa has maintained since its interim application in December last year that Israel\u2019s intent goes beyond military objectives, aiming instead at the wholesale depopulation of Gaza through extreme violence and forced displacement.<\/p>\n
In its initial application, South Africa submitted 84 pages pleading with the court to find Israel guilty of suspected genocide and order it to, among other things, halt its invasion in Gaza.<\/p>\n
During oral arguments in The Hague, the South African legal team relied on statements made by Israeli politicians at the time, video clips of the destruction in Gaza and maps that showed how Palestinian land had been encroached on.<\/p>\n
\u2018Unprovable\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n The ICJ set firm its Monday deadline for South Africa to prove, on paper, that Israel is guilty of genocide.<\/p>\n However, this is a feat described by international law experts as \u201cnearly unprovable\u201d.<\/p>\n Professor of international law at the University of Cape Town, Cathleen Powell, said South Africa\u2019s challenge is to prove genocidal intent on behalf of the state of Israel and to show a link between comments made by officials and the programmatic nature of the destruction of Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they can find genocidal statements from state officials and show that that directly led to a particular program that led to destruction on the ground, then that\u2019s probably a very strong case, but it is a very difficult link to prove.\u201d<\/p>\n She said there was no doubt war crimes were being committed in Gaza, but invoking the genocide convention meant that South Africa had to prove that the state was responsible.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is difficult to attribute the intent of officials to the state. You have to find something different on behalf of the state [of Israel] to show genocidal intent,\u201d Powell explained.<\/p>\n Legal insiders said if South Africa fails to prove dolus specialis \u2013 the specific intent to destroy a group, either in whole or in part \u2013 its case would fall flat.<\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s Dangor said his country\u2019s case was rock solid.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a textbook case of genocide,\u201d Dangor said, adding that the \u201cintent is clear\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cGenocidal acts without intent can be crimes against humanity. But here, the intent is just front and centre.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are seeing statements from leaders, but also ordinary Israelis saying \u2018kill all Gazans, even the babies\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2018Working flat out\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Working within tight deadlines, South Africa assembled an elite team of legal minds, including three top senior counsels from South Africa, an international law professor, a British barrister, and numerous junior counsel and researchers.<\/p>\n Close to 100 people have been working on different parts of the case for the last nine months, insiders detailed.<\/p>\n While top government officials provided oversight, teams worked separately in drafting the document, which has been marked \u201cTop Secret\u201d until it is filed before the court.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been working flat out to put together the submission,\u201d Ambassador Madonsela noted.<\/p>\n Tasked with project management, a respected Johannesburg law firm handled the intricate logistical elements, chapter by chapter, including translations and citation verification.<\/p>\n Junior counsel concentrated on drawing a clear link between Israeli officials\u2019 rhetoric and the military actions in Gaza, while senior lawyers crafted the case\u2019s legal arguments to show a systematic campaign.<\/p>\n They had to condense thousands of pages of evidence of \u201cunthinkable brutality\u201d into thematic legal arguments, Dangor explained.<\/p>\n Over nine months, legal researchers were instructed not only to list examples of Israel\u2019s terrible killings and destruction in Gaza but to focus the evidence on what would clearly depict what South Africa argues is \u201cIsrael\u2019s ultimate objective\u201d to obliterate Gaza and force out the Palestinians living there.<\/p>\n In the hundreds of pages due to be submitted, South Africa listed a litany of examples where Israeli politicians and senior government officials spoke about \u201cwiping out Gaza\u201d and \u201cforcing Palestinians out\u201d.<\/p>\n South Africa interprets these statements as clearly articulating genocidal intent.<\/p>\n For instance, remarks by Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2023, in which he referenced plans for Gaza while alluding to possible actions against Lebanon, are positioned as evidence of a broader Israeli agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cI am saying here to the citizens of Lebanon, I already see the citizens in Gaza walking with white flags along the coast \u2026 If Hezbollah makes mistakes of this kind, the ones who will pay the price are, first of all, the citizens of Lebanon. What we are doing in Gaza, we know how to do in Beirut,\u201d Gallant said at the time.<\/p>\n While the minister\u2019s comments were cited as examples of genocidal intent, the legal team opted not to argue that Israel\u2019s now invasion of Lebanon was further proof that \u201cit was Israel\u2019s intention all along\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThat will come in oral hearings,\u201d Dangor said when asked about it.<\/p>\n High-stakes case<\/strong><\/p>\n Dangor explained that the case has become a landmark in international law for several reasons.<\/p>\n First, it is unprecedented that genocide allegations are being presented to an international tribunal while the atrocities continue to unfold \u2013 rather than retrospectively, as seen in cases like the Srebrenica or Rwanda genocides.<\/p>\n Secondly, the case benefits from the real-time documentation of alleged genocidal acts, which captures intent and execution with immediate clarity.<\/p>\n Dangor said this is markedly different from historical cases where evidence emerged much later and in fragments.<\/p>\n Additionally, he emphasized that South Africa\u2019s case uniquely implicates a Western-backed state.<\/p>\n This factor raises the stakes considerably and challenges longstanding assumptions in international legal responses to genocide.<\/p>\n According to Dangor, genocidal acts without intent may fall under crimes against humanity, but in this case, the intent is unambiguously prominent.<\/p>\n South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed confidence in the submission, stating before Parliament in August that he believed the case was solid and was hopeful about its outcome. \u201cWe are confident that we have a strong case to prove that genocide is happening in Palestine,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n Once submitted, Israel has until July 2025 to submit its counter-arguments. After that, oral hearings at the ICJ are anticipated in 2026 \u2013 which means the legal process may extend for years.<\/p>\n If accepted, the case would mark a historic first, as no state has successfully prosecuted another for genocide under the Genocide Convention of 1948.<\/p>\n The potential verdict could resonate far beyond Israel and Palestine, setting a new standard in how international law addresses state-sanctioned violence, experts say.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we have been saying is that genocide is a crime of crimes,\u201d said Chrispin Phiri, a spokesperson for South Africa\u2019s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola.<\/p>\n Head of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Melani O\u2019Brien, said South Africa\u2019s submission was the start of an \u201cimportant and lengthy\u201d process.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s part of the process of the prevention of genocide. It serves as a deterrent,\u201d she said of the case, which is one of the four currently before the ICJ invoking the genocide convention.<\/p>\n O\u2019Brien said while a guilty verdict may not stop Israel, it would pressure other countries to reconsider their relationship with it.<\/p>\n Dangor acknowledged that a guilty verdict might not change Israel\u2019s actions but could force an arms embargo.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this level of depravity, willful killing and immunity, where Israel says, \u2018We will commit genocide and get away with it, how dare you call it a genocide\u2019, we are duty-bound to stop it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have the ability to stop it with military means or economic sanctions. We are hoping that the actions we take can lead to others having to take action. This is because the legal consequences that emerge from a finding of genocide mean that third-party states can no longer find excuses to provide arms [to Israel].\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking at the BRICS summit in Russia last week, Ramaphosa told world leaders that alongside its legal action at the ICJ, South Africa remained \u201cunwavering\u201d in its support of the establishment of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do believe the world cannot stand by and watch the slaughtering of innocent people continuing,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n (Source: Al Jazeera)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n While South African legal researchers were in an undisclosed location last week, racing against time to finalize hundreds of pages of evidence proving Israel\u2019s intent to commit genocide in Gaza, in Israel, leaders gathering near the Gaza border were calling for the besieged and bombarded Strip to be emptied of Palestinians.<\/p>\n During the \u201cpreparing to settle Gaza\u201d conference, held at a restricted military zone in Be\u2019eri last Monday, Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was recorded calling for the \u201cmigration\u201d of Gaza\u2019s current inhabitants, and the possibility of future Israeli settlement expansion there \u2013 something considered illegal under international law.<\/p>\n \u201c[We will] tell them, \u2018we are giving you the chance, leave from here to other countries\u2019,\u201d Ben-Gvir said, while Israeli forces continued their more than yearlong bombardment of Gaza. \u201cThe Land of Israel is ours.\u201d<\/p>\n South African diplomats assert that statements like these offer undeniable evidence of Israel\u2019s genocidal intent \u2013 something they must prove before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in an ongoing case.<\/p>\n Monday (October 28) was the deadline for South Africa to submit a detailed memorial against Israel to the ICJ, lawyers and diplomats told Al Jazeera. Its legal submission aims to definitively establish that Israel\u2019s military actions in Gaza amount to genocide.<\/p>\n Despite new evidence emerging daily, senior South African officials instructed the legal team to stick to what they had already collected to meet the approaching deadline.<\/p>\n The legal team is however confident that the hundreds of pages of evidence are more than enough to sustain their case.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem we have is that we have too much evidence,\u201d Ambassador Vusimuzi Madonsela, South Africa\u2019s representative to The Hague, explained to Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n Zane Dangor, the director-general of South Africa\u2019s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said: \u201cThe legal team will always say we need more time, there\u2019s more facts coming. But we have to say you have to stop now. You [have] got to focus on what you have.\u201d<\/p>\n The 500-page South African legal submission aims to expose a pattern of mass casualties in Gaza, where almost 43,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, which South African officials argue exceeds any proportional military response to Hamas\u2019s attacks on October 7 last year.<\/p>\n South Africa has maintained since its interim application in December last year that Israel\u2019s intent goes beyond military objectives, aiming instead at the wholesale depopulation of Gaza through extreme violence and forced displacement.<\/p>\n In its initial application, South Africa submitted 84 pages pleading with the court to find Israel guilty of suspected genocide and order it to, among other things, halt its invasion in Gaza.<\/p>\n During oral arguments in The Hague, the South African legal team relied on statements made by Israeli politicians at the time, video clips of the destruction in Gaza and maps that showed how Palestinian land had been encroached on.<\/p>\n =========\u2018Unprovable\u2019?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The ICJ set firm its Monday deadline for South Africa to prove, on paper, that Israel is guilty of genocide.<\/p>\n However, this is a feat described by international law experts as \u201cnearly unprovable\u201d.<\/p>\n Professor of international law at the University of Cape Town, Cathleen Powell, said South Africa\u2019s challenge is to prove genocidal intent on behalf of the state of Israel and to show a link between comments made by officials and the programmatic nature of the destruction of Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they can find genocidal statements from state officials and show that that directly led to a particular program that led to destruction on the ground, then that\u2019s probably a very strong case, but it is a very difficult link to prove.\u201d<\/p>\n She said there was no doubt war crimes were being committed in Gaza, but invoking the genocide convention meant that South Africa had to prove that the state was responsible.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is difficult to attribute the intent of officials to the state. You have to find something different on behalf of the state [of Israel] to show genocidal intent,\u201d Powell explained.<\/p>\n Legal insiders said if South Africa fails to prove dolus specialis \u2013 the specific intent to destroy a group, either in whole or in part \u2013 its case would fall flat.<\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s Dangor said his country\u2019s case was rock solid.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a textbook case of genocide,\u201d Dangor said, adding that the \u201cintent is clear\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cGenocidal acts without intent can be crimes against humanity. But here, the intent is just front and centre.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are seeing statements from leaders, but also ordinary Israelis saying \u2018kill all Gazans, even the babies\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n ============\u2018Working flat out\u2019<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Working within tight deadlines, South Africa assembled an elite team of legal minds, including three top senior counsels from South Africa, an international law professor, a British barrister, and numerous junior counsel and researchers.<\/p>\n Close to 100 people have been working on different parts of the case for the last nine months, insiders detailed.<\/p>\n While top government officials provided oversight, teams worked separately in drafting the document, which has been marked \u201cTop Secret\u201d until it is filed before the court.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been working flat out to put together the submission,\u201d Ambassador Madonsela noted.<\/p>\n Tasked with project management, a respected Johannesburg law firm handled the intricate logistical elements, chapter by chapter, including translations and citation verification.<\/p>\n Junior counsel concentrated on drawing a clear link between Israeli officials\u2019 rhetoric and the military actions in Gaza, while senior lawyers crafted the case\u2019s legal arguments to show a systematic campaign.<\/p>\n They had to condense thousands of pages of evidence of \u201cunthinkable brutality\u201d into thematic legal arguments, Dangor explained.<\/p>\n Over nine months, legal researchers were instructed not only to list examples of Israel\u2019s terrible killings and destruction in Gaza but to focus the evidence on what would clearly depict what South Africa argues is \u201cIsrael\u2019s ultimate objective\u201d to obliterate Gaza and force out the Palestinians living there.<\/p>\n In the hundreds of pages due to be submitted, South Africa listed a litany of examples where Israeli politicians and senior government officials spoke about \u201cwiping out Gaza\u201d and \u201cforcing Palestinians out\u201d.<\/p>\n South Africa interprets these statements as clearly articulating genocidal intent.<\/p>\n For instance, remarks by Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2023, in which he referenced plans for Gaza while alluding to possible actions against Lebanon, are positioned as evidence of a broader Israeli agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cI am saying here to the citizens of Lebanon, I already see the citizens in Gaza walking with white flags along the coast \u2026 If Hezbollah makes mistakes of this kind, the ones who will pay the price are, first of all, the citizens of Lebanon. What we are doing in Gaza, we know how to do in Beirut,\u201d Gallant said at the time.<\/p>\n While the minister\u2019s comments were cited as examples of genocidal intent, the legal team opted not to argue that Israel\u2019s now invasion of Lebanon was further proof that \u201cit was Israel\u2019s intention all along\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThat will come in oral hearings,\u201d Dangor said when asked about it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n =========High-stakes case<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Dangor explained that the case has become a landmark in international law for several reasons.<\/p>\n First, it is unprecedented that genocide allegations are being presented to an international tribunal while the atrocities continue to unfold \u2013 rather than retrospectively, as seen in cases like the Srebrenica or Rwanda genocides.<\/p>\n Secondly, the case benefits from the real-time documentation of alleged genocidal acts, which captures intent and execution with immediate clarity.<\/p>\n Dangor said this is markedly different from historical cases where evidence emerged much later and in fragments.<\/p>\n Additionally, he emphasized that South Africa\u2019s case uniquely implicates a Western-backed state.<\/p>\n This factor raises the stakes considerably and challenges longstanding assumptions in international legal responses to genocide.<\/p>\n According to Dangor, genocidal acts without intent may fall under crimes against humanity, but in this case, the intent is unambiguously prominent.<\/p>\n South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed confidence in the submission, stating before Parliament in August that he believed the case was solid and was hopeful about its outcome. \u201cWe are confident that we have a strong case to prove that genocide is happening in Palestine,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n Once submitted, Israel has until July 2025 to submit its counter-arguments. After that, oral hearings at the ICJ are anticipated in 2026 \u2013 which means the legal process may extend for years.<\/p>\n If accepted, the case would mark a historic first, as no state has successfully prosecuted another for genocide under the Genocide Convention of 1948.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The potential verdict could resonate far beyond Israel and Palestine, setting a new standard in how international law addresses state-sanctioned violence, experts say.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we have been saying is that genocide is a crime of crimes,\u201d said Chrispin Phiri, a spokesperson for South Africa\u2019s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola.<\/p>\n Head of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Melani O\u2019Brien, said South Africa\u2019s submission was the start of an \u201cimportant and lengthy\u201d process.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s part of the process of the prevention of genocide. It serves as a deterrent,\u201d she said of the case, which is one of the four currently before the ICJ invoking the genocide convention.<\/p>\n O\u2019Brien said while a guilty verdict may not stop Israel, it would pressure other countries to reconsider their relationship with it.<\/p>\n Dangor acknowledged that a guilty verdict might not change Israel\u2019s actions but could force an arms embargo.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this level of depravity, willful killing and immunity, where Israel says, \u2018We will commit genocide and get away with it, how dare you call it a genocide\u2019, we are duty-bound to stop it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have the ability to stop it with military means or economic sanctions. We are hoping that the actions we take can lead to others having to take action. This is because the legal consequences that emerge from a finding of genocide mean that third-party states can no longer find excuses to provide arms [to Israel].\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking at the BRICS summit in Russia last week, Ramaphosa told world leaders that alongside its legal action at the ICJ, South Africa remained \u201cunwavering\u201d in its support of the establishment of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do believe the world cannot stand by and watch the slaughtering of innocent people continuing,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n (Source: Al Jazeera)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n