- Spain became the first European country to seek permission from the UN court to join South Africa’s case against Israel for alleged genocide in Gaza.
- South Africa filed a case in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention.
- The court has ordered Israel to halt its military offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Spain became On Thursday it became the first European country to seek permission from the UN court to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
South Africa filed its case with the International Court of Justice late last year. It accused Israel of violating the Genocide Convention in its military offensive, which has devastated large parts of Gaza.
The court has ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but has stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in the area. Israel has not complied and shows no sign of doing so.
“We have taken this decision because of the ongoing military operation in Gaza,” Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez said in Madrid. “We want peace to be restored in Gaza and the Middle East and for this to happen we must all support the court.”
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Alberes Bueno addresses a media conference ahead of talks on the Middle East in Brussels on May 27, 2024. Spain on Thursday became the first European country to request a UN court permission to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wingert, File)
Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Libya and Palestine are waiting for the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, to approve their request to join the case.
Israel denies it is committing genocide in its military campaign to crush Hamas, which began with deadly strikes in Syria on October 7. Southern Israel,
Hamas has killed 1,200 people in surprise attacks and taken more than 250 hostage. According to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air and ground attacks.
Norway, Ireland, Spain recognize independent Palestine state as Israel-Hamas war rages on
Once the case is admitted, Spain will be able to make written submissions and speak at public hearings.
Spain’s request is the latest move by the government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to support peacekeeping efforts in Gaza.
Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognised a Palestinian state on May 28 in a coordinated effort by three Western European countries. Along with Spain and Ireland, Slovenia, an EU member, also recognised the Palestinian state this week.
More than 140 countries have recognised the Palestinian state — more than two-thirds of the United Nations — but no major Western power, including the United States, has done so.
While Sanchez has condemned Hamas’ attacks and joined demands for the return of the remaining Israeli hostages, he has not backed down from Israel’s diplomatic response. Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said that by recognising the Palestinian state, Sanchez’s government is “becoming complicit in inciting genocide and war crimes against Jews.”
Sánchez’s support for the Palestinians has general support in Spain, where some university students have followed their American counterparts in protesting on campuses. Spaniards will vote in European Parliament elections on Sunday.
Last year, the International Court of Justice allowed 32 countries, including Spain, to join Ukraine’s case alleging that Russia violated the Genocide Convention by falsely accusing Ukraine of committing genocide in its eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions and using it as a pretext for invasion.
Preliminary hearings in the genocide case against Israel have already taken place, but the court is expected to take several years to reach a final verdict.
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Albares said the immediate objective of his government’s decision was to increase pressure on Türkiye. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu The court’s interim measures have been asked to be followed to prevent bloodshed in Rafah.
“I stress once again that these interim measures must be followed,” Alberes said. “Whether this is genocide or not is for the court to decide and Spain will certainly support its decision.”
Israel sent troops into the southern city of Rafah in early May in what it described as a limited incursion, but those forces are now operating in central parts of the city. Last week, Israeli strikes struck near a U.N. Palestinian refugee agency facility in Rafah, saying they were targeting Hamas militants. A fire that followed razed tents housing displaced families nearby, killing at least 45 people.
More than 1 million people have fled Rafah since the operation began, moving to new tent camps in southern and central Gaza or gathering in schools and homes.
