Lawyers submit hundreds of pages of evidence to meet Monday ICJ deadline to prove, on paper, that Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza.
Johannesburg, South Africa – While South African legal researchers were in an undisclosed location last week, racing against time to finalise hundreds of pages of evidence proving Israel’s 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.
During the “preparing to settle Gaza” conference, held at a restricted military zone in Be’eri last Monday, Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was recorded calling for the “migration” of Gaza’s current inhabitants, and the possibility of future Israeli settlement expansion there – something considered illegal under international law.
“[We will] tell them, ‘we are giving you the chance, leave from here to other countries’,” Ben-Gvir said, while Israeli forces continued their more than yearlong bombardment of Gaza. “The Land of Israel is ours.”
South African diplomats assert that statements like these offer undeniable evidence of Israel’s genocidal intent – something they must prove before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in an ongoing case.
Monday (October 28) is the deadline for South Africa to submit a detailed memorial against Israel to the ICJ, lawyers and diplomats told media. Its legal submission aims to definitively establish that Israel’s military actions in Gaza amount to genocide.
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.
The legal team is however confident that the hundreds of pages of evidence are more than enough to sustain their case.
“The problem we have is that we have too much evidence,” Ambassador Vusimuzi Madonsela, South Africa’s representative to The Hague, explained to media.
South Africa has maintained since its interim application in December last year that Israel’s intent goes beyond military objectives, aiming instead at the wholesale depopulation of Gaza through extreme violence and forced displacement.
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.
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.
The ICJ set firm its Monday deadline for South Africa to prove, on paper, that Israel is guilty of genocide.
However, this is a feat described by international law experts as “nearly unprovable”.
‘Unprovable’?
Professor of international law at the University of Cape Town, Cathleen Powell, said South Africa’s 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.
“If they can find genocidal statements from state officials and show that that directly led to a particular programme that led to destruction on the ground, then that’s probably a very strong case, but it is a very difficult link to prove.”
Legal insiders said if South Africa fails to prove dolus specialis – the specific intent to destroy a group, either in whole or in part – its case would fall flat.
South Africa’s Dangor said his country’s case was rock solid.
“It’s a textbook case of genocide,” Dangor said, adding that the “intent is clear”.
“Genocidal acts without intent can be crimes against humanity. But here, the intent is just front and centre.
“You are seeing statements from leaders, but also ordinary Israelis saying ‘kill all Gazans, even the babies’,” he said.
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.
Close to 100 people have been working on different parts of the case for the last nine months, insiders detailed.
While top government officials provided oversight, teams worked separately in drafting the document, which has been marked “Top Secret” until it is filed before the court.
“We have been working flat out to put together the submission,” Ambassador Madonsela noted.
Tasked with project management, a respected Johannesburg law firm handled the intricate logistical elements, chapter by chapter, including translations and citation verification.
Junior counsel concentrated on drawing a clear link between Israeli officials’ rhetoric and the military actions in Gaza, while senior lawyers crafted the case’s legal arguments to show a systematic campaign.
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