Genocide expert Iva Vukušić on the genocide case against Israel
In late 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people, South Africa claims. Recently, the court issued an interim ruling. Genocide expert Iva Vukušić discussed the case and ruling with The Guardian and RTL Nieuws.
International Court of Justice interim ruling
In the interim ruling, the International Court of Justice demands that Israel must ‘take all measures within its power’ to prevent genocide and do more to avoid any casualties in Gaza. It must also allow humanitarian aid and may not destroy any possible evidence. Within a month, Israel must report on the measures taken and the progress. Hamas is ordered to release all hostages.
Israel, however, has previously indicated that it will not give any weight to the International Court of Justice’s ruling. But still, the ruling may carry diplomatic weight, Vukušić explains to RTL Nieuws (26 January 2024). “Countries that support Israel, such as the Netherlands and the US, will find themselves in a delicate situation.” If they also disregard the ruling, they would be giving the signal that they do not recognise the court’s authority.
Why is it difficult to prove genocide?
“With over 21,000 dead in Gaza, [the South Africans] believe it is time to let a court look at what is going on,” Vukušić told The Guardian (29 December 2023). She argued that South Africa could bring the charges based on the internationally signed Genocide Convention, “because states, globally, don’t have a lot of places to ‘go to’ in these kinds of situations, especially with the [UN] Security Council being as polarised and dysfunctional.”
At the time of the interim ruling, in late January, the death toll among Palestinians in Gaza already stands at more than 25,000. However, this high death toll does not yet prove genocide, Vukušić told RTL Nieuws (26 January 2024). “As terrible as it is, large numbers of civilian casualties in a war does not necessarily violate the law of war.” The definition of genocide is highly technical, she explains. “A crucial part is that it must be proven that Israel has the intention to annihilate the Palestinian people.” It is now up to South Africa to prove such intent.
About Iva Vukušić
Iva Vukušić is assistant professor in the History of International Relations and an expert on war crimes. She researches genocide and mass violence, perpetrators, and transitional justice, especially criminal accountability.
Israel firmly denies any allegations of genocide and invokes the right to self-defence. In support, it shares documents including internal army communications with the International Court of Justice. “But military leaders are not ignorant,” Vukušić says, “they will not write down criminal orders in documents they know will end up in the archives.”
Is the International Court of Justice also investigating acts of war by Hamas?
Since March 2021, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, also in The Hague, has been conducting criminal investigations into international crimes in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. While members of Hamas could potentially be convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in the future, this is not currently the case.
South Africa, however, has filed a case at the International Court of Justice, which deals exclusively with legal disputes between states. “It is right to stress that what Hamas did on 7 October is a crime and atrocity and that it is illegal to take civilians hostage,” Vukušić says. “But the Genocide Convention concerns the states that signed it, and Hamas is not a state.”