Dirco warns Israel of further legal action if Gaza attack continues

The International Relations Department (Dirco) has warned Israel that if it continues its relentless bombing of Gaza, it will consider further legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for another provisional measure to stop the attacks.

This comes after at least at least 63 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air and sea attacks on Rafah border with Egypt overnight, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Legal action against Israel

A senior Hamas leader on Sunday said  Israel’s planned ground offensive on Rafah will “blow up” the captives exchange negotiations, according to Al Jazeera.

US President Joe Biden told Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu that a military ground assault would need a “safety” plan for more than one million people sheltering in Rafah.

Speaking to 702, Dirco’s director general said despite the ICJ ruling which ordered Israel to take measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, the country continues to defy the world court’s order including blocking humanitarian aid to millions of Palestinians.

“This is exactly why we went to the ICJ to stop the killing. We saw this as an unfolding genocide and we thought that we needed to use the institution of global governance to prevent further killing. What we see now is the almost safe areas where Palestinians were supposed to go to is now going to be the next area for mass destruction.

“We are hoping that even the security council will intervene in the next few days. If not, we may have to consider on advice from our legal team whether we need to ask for another provisional order from the ICJ,” Dangor said.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has persisted despite a United Nations court order to end “plausible acts of genocide in the enclave”.

The Citizen has reached out to The South Zionist Federation (SAZF) for comment. There was no response at the time of publication, the story will be updated once comment is received.

ALSO READ: Pandor’s security beefed up amid threats to her and children over ICJ case against Israel

Bipartisan bill

Dangor said the decision by the US Congress to review its relationship with South Africa was unfortunate.

The Bipartisan Bill which was introduced by US Republican congressman John James and Democratic Party congressman Jared Moskowitz aims to review US ties with South Africa.

The US congress bill argues that the South African government’s support of Hamas dates back to 1994, when the African National Congress (ANC) first came into power, taking a stance of consistently accusing Israel of apartheid.

Dangor said they consider a political solution on the bill.

“That bill is produced by two freshman congressmen that are from both sides of the isle. But we don’t think that it’s going to give them traction of many, many other congressmen. It’s very poorly written draft bill. We don’t think that this is the kind of bill that will go through congress or the senate.

“But we do need to engage with the fact that why would you want to punish a country that seeks to stop mass deaths when you in fact given the green light for mass deaths through selling the arms for the actual genocide in the country?” Dangor said.

SA support

Dangor said South Africa is getting support from “inside Washington and the State Department”.

“We are getting support from diplomats, from the EU and across Europe. They may not be able to do this publicly because the kind of political pressure that they are under, but we are getting that support and I think that level of support will cascade into the political space as well, not just from the official professional space,” Dangor said.

ALSO READ: Netanyahu rejects Gaza ceasefire deal thwarting US hopes