According to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Turkey will participate in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ has instructed Israel to abstain from any actions that might be considered violations of the Genocide Convention and to guarantee that its military does not engage in genocidal activities against Palestinians. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in January that Turkey was furnishing evidence for the case to the United Nations court, commonly known as the World Court.
Turkey will team up with Colombia in officially seeking to join the legal proceedings against Israel. Colombia urged the ICJ last month to permit its involvement in the case, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the safety and survival of the Palestinian people. In a distinct legal matter on Tuesday, the ICJ rejected the plea for urgent actions concerning German arms exports to Israel, as Nicaragua had contended that there existed a grave threat of genocide in Gaza during Israel’s offensive. Germany has refuted these allegations.
In March, the ICJ issued emergency measures directing Israel to promptly and effectively guarantee the delivery of essential food supplies to the Palestinian population in Gaza, where the threat of famine loomed in certain areas. Severe food shortages arose due to Israel’s significant constraints on humanitarian aid supplies and its ongoing military offensive, which commenced nearly seven months earlier.
Rights groups and officials including USAID chief Samantha Power have said famine is already happening in northern Gaza.
The war has so far killed at least 34,568 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian authorities. More than 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, and entire neighbourhoods have been levelled in Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion.
In Hamas’s October 7 attacks on southern Israel, 1,139 people were killed and about 250 were taken captive.
