ICJ orders Israel to 'take all measures' to prevent genocide

Israel must do everything to "prevent the commission of all acts within the scope" of the Genocide Convention, said the International Court of Justice on Friday.

This comes after South Africa lodged an application with the ICJ last month arguing that Israel was violating the UN Convention on Genocide and seeking urgent measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza.

Fifteen out of 17 judges voted for Israel to take all measures to prevent any acts in the scope of the Genocide Convention.

"The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to the Palestinian people as a group protected by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, desist from the commission of any and all acts within the scope of Article II of the Convention, in particular:

(a) killing members of the group;

(b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to the members of the group;

(c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and

(d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group," says Donoghue.

ICJ President Judge Joan Donoghue said the court found that there is a genuine dispute between Israel and South Africa - and therefore, the ICJ has jurisdiction to hear the case.

The court also rejected Israel's argument that South Africa's case against it should be removed from the court's roll.

The war started on October 7 when Hamas staged an unprecedented attack on Israel that left about 1,140 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's relentless military campaign on Gaza since has left at least 25,900 dead, about 70 per cent of them women, children and adolescents, according to the Hamas government's health ministry.

South Africa brought the case against Israel because both countries have signed the UN Genocide Convention, drawn up in 1948 as the world vowed "never again" after the Holocaust.

Its filing states that Pretoria is "acutely aware" of the "particular weight of responsibility" in accusing Israel of all countries of breaking the Genocide Convention.

But it also says that no attack can justify alleged breaches of the Convention and that Israel has "its own obligation" as a signatory to prevent genocide.

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