The above noted ‘application’ to the International Court of Justice, complaining of genocidal acts by the nation of Israel against Palestinians, comprises of 84 extremely detailed pages containing 150 paragraphs, some of which are sub-divided into numerous sections and contain detailed references to 574 sources of information. The sheer length of this application will be something of a barrier to many people giving this important document the time and consideration its content deserves. For this reason I have decided it may provide a useful service to visitors to this blog to provide at least an overview by means of a few selected extracts from various sections of the document.

SECTION I.
Introduction
This section contains 20 paragraphs including the following;

“The acts and omissions by Israel complained of by South Africa are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group, that being the part of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip (‘Palestinians in Gaza’)” (para 1)

“South Africa is highly cognisant of the fact that acts of genocide are distinct from other violations of international law sanctioned or perpetrated by the Israeli government and military in Gaza — including intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population, civilian objects and buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected; torture; the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare; and other war crimes and crimes against humanity….For this reason it is important to place the acts of genocide in the broader context of Israel’s conduct towards Palestinians during its 75-year-long apartheid, its 56-yearlong belligerent occupation of Palestinian territory and its 16-year-long blockade of Gaza.” (para 2)

“..Israel, since 7 October 2023 in particular, has failed to prevent genocide and has failed to prosecute the direct and public incitement to genocide. More gravely still, Israel has engaged in, is engaging in and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Those acts include killing them, causing them serious mental and bodily harm and deliberately inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction as a group.” (para 4)

“Civilian fatalities [in Gaza] lay bare the lie that the war is against an armed group. Rather, it is a collective punishment and genocide against the Palestinian people.” (para 12)

“.. at least 21,110 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and over 55,243 other Palestinians have been wounded, many severely. 56 The death toll includes over 7,729 children,57 not including the 4,700 women and children still missing, and presumed dead under the rubble.” (para 19)

“In 2019, the then Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’) held that “there is a reasonable basis to believe” that the Israeli army committed “war crimes… in the context of the 2014 hostilities in Gaza”, in particular.” (para 31).

“Since 7 October 2023, Israeli forces have carried out airstrikes and military raids on refugee camps in the West Bank, killing many Palestinians, bulldozing roads, and imposing severe restrictions on movement.154 There have been 236 attacks on ‘healthcare’ — including hospitals — in the West Bank, with Israeli forces detaining health staff and ambulances and preventing ambulances from accessing the wounded.155 Armed Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians — overtly supported by Israeli politicians — have also escalated dramatically.156 Settlers — often accompanied by Israeli soldiers — have killed at least eight Palestinians and injured at least 85 others, instilling terror among Palestinians, especially farming communities, and damaging property.157 2,186 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 1,058 children, have been internally displaced since 7 October 2023 as a result of extreme Israeli settler violence, alongside punitive or administrative house demolitions carried out by the Israeli army and damage caused to homes during Israeli military raids and operations” (para 38)

SECTION B
Historical Background.

This section contains (Paras 21 to 36) giving further detail on the historical Background to Israeli occupation, prior to 7th October 2023 and this includes six extracts from Special fact-finding reports from international organisations, plus the following.

“Entry and exit by air and sea to Gaza has been prohibited since the early 1990s, with Israel operating only two crossing points – Erez (pedestrian) and Kerem Shalom (goods) – through which Palestinians could access the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, for business, trade and healthcare and social and family functions.” (para 25)

Between 29 September 2000 and 7 October 2023, approximately 7,569 Palestinians, 102 including 1,699 children,103 were killed, including in those “four highly asymmetrical wars”, as well as other smaller military assaults, with tens of thousands of others injured. A further 214 Palestinians, including 46 children were killed during the ‘Great March of Return’,104 a large-scale peaceful protest along the separation fence between Gaza and Israel, in which thousands of Palestinians participated every Friday for over 18 months, demanding that “the blockade imposed on Gaza be lifted and the return of Palestinian refugees” to their homes and villages in Israel.” (para 27)

“The institutionalised regime of discriminatory laws, policies and practices applied by Israel subjects Palestinians to what constitutes an apartheid regime.140 Palestinians in the West Bank are contained behind a segregating Wall, subjected to: discriminatory land zoning and planning policies; punitive and administrative house demolitions;141 violent Israeli army incursions into Palestinian villages, towns, cities and refugee camps, including in Area A;142 routine violent Israeli raids on their homes; arbitrary arrests and indefinitely renewable administrative detention (internment without trial)”. (para 35)

SECTION C.
Genocidal acts.

This section contains 57 paragraphs including the following:

“Humanitarian veterans who have served in war zones and disasters around the world — people who have seen everything — [say] they have seen nothing like what they see today in Gaza” (para 44)

“Israel is said to be dropping ‘dumb’ (i.e., unguided) bombs on Gaza,195 as well as heavy bombs weighing up to 2,000 lbs (900 kgs),196 which have a predicted lethal radius “of up to 360m”, and are “expected to cause severe injury and damage as far as 800 metres from the point of impact”.197 This weaponry is being deployed in one of the most densely populated areas in the world” The level of mortality in Palestinian families is such that medics in Gaza have had to coin a new acronym: ‘WCNSF’, meaning ‘wounded child, no surviving family’.” (para 47.)

“To date, Israel has killed: over 311 doctors, nurses and other health workers, including doctors and ambulance drivers killed on duty; 103 journalists, amounting to over one per day, and more than 73 per cent of the total number of journalists and media workers killed globally in 2023; 40 civil defence workers — responsible for helping to dig victims out of the rubble — killed while on duty; and over 209 teachers and educational staff. 144 United Nations employees have also been killed, the

“highest number of aid workers killed in UN history in such a short time”. (para 49.)

“For many Palestinians, the forced evacuation from their homes is necessarily permanent. Israel has now damaged or destroyed an estimated 355,000 Palestinian homes — amounting to 60 per cent of the entire housing stock in Gaza. The extent of the destruction in the North of Gaza, in particular, has rendered it largely unliveable, with the destruction in the South reaching a similar level.” (para 60)

“The lack of water is severely impacting lactating women, in particular, who, even if undertaking only a moderate amount of exercise, require a supply of 7.5 litres of water a day for drinking, sanitation and hygiene to keep themselves and their babies healthy.” (para 67)

“Almost above all else, Israel’s military assault on Gaza has been an attack on Gaza’s medical healthcare system, indispensable to the life and survival of the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel “has declared an ‘unrelenting war’ on the health system in Gaza”, as observed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur ..” (para 76)

“In addition to the war wounded, there are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza who still need routine medical care for conditions such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease or diabetes.380 Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are also in need of urgent care for kidney disease and cancer, and an estimated 130 premature babies are dependent on incubators for survival at any given time.381 Many of them are now unable to receive medical assistance. (para 85.)

“Along with its destruction of the physical monuments to the history and heritage of the Palestinians in Gaza, Israel has sought to destroy the very Palestinian people who form and create that heritage: Gaza’s celebrated journalists, its teachers, intellectuals and public figures, its doctors and nurses, its film-makers, writers and singers, the directors and deans of its universities, the heads of its hospitals, its eminent scientists, linguists, playwrights, novelists, artists and musicians. Israel has killed and is killing Palestinian story-tellers and poets, Palestinian farmers and fishermen, alongside Gaza’s local legends: pastry chef Masoud Muhammad al-Qatati,” (para 93)

“An ever-increasing number of Palestinian babies in Gaza are reportedly dying from entirely preventable causes, brought about by Israel’s actions: newborns up to three months old are dying of diarrhoea, hypothermia, and other preventable causes.” (para 99)

SECTION D.
Evidence of Genocidal Intent.

Section D of the ‘Application’ contains six paragraphs dealing with evidence related to not only the actual, but to the verbal intent to commit genocide which came from within the elite leadership of Israel and from others in Israel. Among them the following;

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 3 November 2023. “In a letter to Israeli soldiers and officers also published on the platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter); the letter asserted that: “[t]his is the war between the sons of light and the sons of darkness. We will not let up on our mission until the light overcomes the darkness — the good will defeat the extreme evil that threatens us and the entire world.” (para 101)

President Isaac Herzog: 12 October 2023. “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. It’s not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware not involved. It’s absolutely not true. … and we will fight until we break their backbone.” (ibid para 101)

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. 9 October 2023. “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will eliminate everything. If it doesn’t take one day, it will take a week. It will take weeks or even months, we will reach all places.” (ibid para 101)

Minister for National Security: Itamar Ben-Gvir. 10 November 2023. “To be clear, when we say that Hamas should be destroyed, it also means those who celebrate, those who support, and those who hand out candy — they’re all terrorists, and they should also be destroyed.” (ibid para 101)

Minister of Energy. Israel Katz.13 October 2023, “All the civilian population in Gaza is ordered to leave immediately. We will win. They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave the world.” (para 101)

Israeli Minister of Finance: Bezalel Smotrich. 8 October 2023, stated at a meeting of the Israeli Cabinet that “[w]e need to deal a blow that hasn’t been seen in 50 years and take down Gaza.” (para 101.)

Israeli Minister of Heritage: Amichai Eliyahu. 1 November 2023  posted on Facebook: “The north of the Gaza Strip, more beautiful than ever. Everything is blown up and flattened, simply a pleasure for the eyes …” (ibid para 101)

Israeli Minister of Agriculture: Avi Dichter. 11 November 2023. “[w]e are now actually rolling out the Gaza Nakba.” (para 101)

Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and Member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee: Nissim Vaturi. On 7 October 2023. “Now we all have one common goal — erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the earth.” (para 101)

Israeli Army Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories: Major General Ghassan Alian. 9 October 2023) “Human animals are dealt with accordingly. Israel has imposed a total blockade on Gaza, no electricity, no water, just damage.” (para 102)

Israeli Army Reservist Major General, former Head of the Israeli National Security Council, and adviser to the Defence Minister: Major General Ghassan Alian. 7 October 2023. “The people should be told that they have two choices; to stay and to starve, or to leave….When the entire world says we have gone insane and this is a humanitarian disaster — we will say, it’s not an end, it’s a means.” (para 102)

Israeli Army reservist “motivational speech”: On 11 October 2023, 95-year old Israeli army reservist Ezra Yachin — “Be triumphant and finish them off and don’t leave anyone behind. Erase the memory of them. Erase them, their families, mothers and children.Be triumphant and finish them off and don’t leave anyone behind. Erase the memory of them. Erase them, their families, mothers and children. These animals can no longer live.” (para102)

Assorted other public comments made in Israel are included in Paragraph 103 to 106 some of which are as follows;

“Destroy everything”; May their villages burn; May Gaza be erased; turned into a slaughterhouse;

“I tell you, in Gaza without exception, they are all terrorists, sons of dogs. They must be exterminated, all of them killed. We will flatten Gaza, turn them to dust, and the army will cleanse the area. Then we will start building new areas, for us, above all, for our security.” (para 106.)

SECTION IV.
The claims of South Africa against Israel.

(a) failing to prevent genocide in violation of Article I;
(b) committing genocide in violation of Article III (a);
(c) conspiring to commit genocide in violation of Article III (b);
(d) direct and public incitement to commit genocide in violation of Article III (c);
(e) attempting to commit genocide in violation of Article III (d);
(f) complicity in genocide in violation of Article III (e);
(g) failing to punish genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to genocide, attempted genocide and complicity in genocide, in violation of Articles I, III, IV and VI;
(h) failing to enact the necessary legislation to give effect to the provisions of the Genocide Convention and to provide effective penalties for persons guilty of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement to genocide, attempted genocide, and complicity in genocide, in violation of Article V; and
(i) failing to allow and/or directly or indirectly impeding the investigation by competent international bodies or fact-finding missions of genocidal acts committed against Palestinians in Gaza, including those Palestinians removed by Israeli State agents or forces to Israel, as a necessary and corollary obligation pursuant to Articles I, III, IV, V and VI. ( all in para 110)

SECTION V.
Declaration and Relief sought by South Africa from the ICJ.

a) Israel has breached and continues to breach its obligations under the Genocide Convention, in particular the obligations provided under Article I, read in conjunction with Article II, and Articles III (a), III (b), III (c), III (d), III (e), IV, V and VI; ” (para 111)

(b) must cease forthwith any acts and measures in breach of those obligations, including such acts or measures which would be capable of killing or continuing to kill Palestinians, or causing or continuing to cause serious bodily or mental harm to Palestinians or deliberately inflicting on their group, or continuing to inflict on their group, conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and fully respect its obligations under the Genocide Convention, in particular the obligations provided under Articles I, III (a), III (b), III (c), III (d), III (e), IV, V and VI;

(c) must ensure that persons committing genocide, conspiring to commit genocide, directly and publicly inciting genocide, attempting to commit genocide and complicit in genocide contrary to Articles I, III (a), III (b), III (c), III (d) and III (e) are punished by a competent national or international tribunal, as required by Articles I, IV, V and VI;

(d) to that end and in furtherance of those obligations arising under Articles I, IV, V and VI, must collect and conserve evidence and ensure, allow and/or not inhibit directly or indirectly the collection and conservation of evidence of genocidal acts committed against Palestinians in Gaza, including such members of the group displaced from Gaza

(e) must perform the obligations of reparation in the interest of Palestinian victims, including but not limited to allowing the safe and dignified return of forcibly displaced and/or abducted Palestinians to their homes, respect for their full human rights and protection against further discrimination, persecution, and other related acts, and provide for the reconstruction of what it has destroyed in Gaza, consistent with the obligation to prevent genocide under Article I; and

(f) must offer assurances and guarantees of non-repetition of violations of the Genocide Convention, in particular the obligations provided under Articles I, III (a), III (b), III (c), III (d), III (e), IV, V and VI. ” (all in para 111)

The remaining paragraphs of the Application’ cover a request for provisional measures to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians, notes the jurisdiction of the Court and states the common humanitarian ideals which underpin the establishment of the United Nations, the Genocide Convention and the International Court of Justice.

Roy Ratcliffe (January 2024)