Bangladesh backs South Africa's ICJ case against 'Israel'
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Bangladesh announces its support for the halting of the Israeli aggression, as well as the delivery of unhindered humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
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Judges preside over the opening of the hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Netherlands, on January 11, 2024. (AP)
Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it supports South Africa's lawsuit against "Israel" before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The ministry also stated that it backed South Africa's proposal for the declaration of urgent temporary measures, which include ending "all military operations in and against Gaza," as well as the delivery of safe, appropriate, and unhindered humanitarian supplies to all parts of the Strip.
Moreover, Dhaka stated that the measures were both essential and tangible steps toward ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, adding that it "welcomed the opportunity to file a declaration of intervention in the proceedings in due course."
Derived from Article 63 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a declaration of intervention can be invoked by states that wish to intervene to facilitate the multilateral convention.
#Bangladesh 🇧🇩 stands in support of South Africa 🇿🇦 in its case against #Israel before #ICJ under 1948 #Genocide Convention; welcomes the opportunity to file a declaration of intervention in the proceedings in due course.
— Bangladesh@UN (@BangladeshUN1) January 14, 2024
Full press statement👇#StopGazaGenocide #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/spKO6G86Fz
For the past 100 days, the Israeli occupation has been deliberately wiping out inhabited residential neighborhoods across the besieged Gaza Strip, aiming to eradicate Palestinians from the region.
On Sunday, Ashraf al-Qudra, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, provided a detailed account of the aftermath of brutal Israeli attacks, in which at least 23,968 people were martyred and 60,582 were injured.
Flagrant disrespect for international law
Bangladesh described the Israeli attacks as a flagrant disrespect for and breach of international law, particularly the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, commonly known as the Genocide Convention.
As a state party to the treaty, Bangladesh urged all governments to uphold their commitments under the Genocide Convention to prevent and punish genocide.
Bangladesh reiterated its prior demands for an end to "Israel's" occupation of Palestine and for a long-term solution that would result in the formation of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State along pre-1967 borders, according to the statement.
South Africa's case against 'Israel' in the ICJ
South Africa filed a lawsuit in December against "Israel", in which it stated that the occupation's inhumane actions since October 7 are "genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group."
It stated that those actions were clearly in breach of the UN's Genocide Convention, leading the court to "order Israel to cease killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm to Palestinian people in Gaza."
Legal hearings on Israeli aggression against Palestinians in Gaza took place in The Hague earlier this week where teams for both sides had equal time to present their cases, approximately three hours each. South Africa presented its case first on January 11 and was followed by "Israel's" response on January 12. The final verdict has been reserved for a later date, possibly within weeks.
