Blocking emergency aid could be a sign of genocide, Ireland believes.
They have now supported South Africa’s case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel.
South Africa has blamed Israel for genocide due to the war in Gaza, where over 32,500 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October.
Ireland is the first western country to stand behind the case. They argue that blocking emergency aid can show intent to commit genocide.
This was said by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday.
– We would ask the court to consider expanding how it is decided whether genocide has taken place, based on the fact that an entire population is being collectively punished, he says to The Guardian.
UN: Acute famine in Gaza
More and more children are dying of starvation in Gaza.
On 2 March, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that at least ten children had died of starvation in hospitals in Gaza. They already emphasized then that the real figure is probably much higher.
A few days ago, the UN also warned against an acute danger of famine in Gaza.
– We have experienced famine, we know what it is like, Micheál Martin has said earlier, with reference to when around 1 million Irish people starved to death in the 19th century.
The northern part of the Gaza Strip has for a long time received almost no emergency aid due to the war.
It is Israel that decides which goods are allowed to enter Gaza.
In January, the International Court of Justice demanded that Israel introduce several urgent measures to avoid genocide in Gaza. One of the measures was to ensure more emergency aid for civilians.
Will let the court decide
Already in January, Ireland announced that it was considering backing the case to South Africa in the ICJ.
The fact that they now support the case does not mean that they have concluded that Israel is guilty of genocide.
– It is up to the court to decide whether it is genocide. But I want to repeat what I have said several times in recent months: What I saw on 7 October in Israel, and what I see in Gaza now, is an open violation of international human rights on a massive scale, says Martin in a message from the Irish the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Minister Martin has previously said that there are clear and massive violations of international human rights in Gaza as a result of the war.
Previously, Malaysia, Turkey, Jordan, Bolivia, the Maldives, Namibia, Pakistan and Colombia have said that they support the case in the ICJ.
UN human rights expert Cecilia Bailliet says Ireland can have support for its arguments at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
– They believe that deprivation of food, access to food and medicine, calculated to lead to the destruction of part of a population, can constitute a crime against humanity, says Bailliet.
Meiner svolt could be a war crime
UN Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk says there is reason to believe that Israel is using starvation as a weapon in the Gaza war.
Türk tells the BBC that if it can be proven that Israel is doing this deliberately, it could be a war crime.
Israel has rejected these claims and described them as “complete nonsense”.
In the past, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has also blamed Israel for using violence as a weapon, something they also rejected.
Tags: Ireland supports South Africa genocide case Israel NRK Norway Overview news parts country
-
