- At least 12 countries have either formally applied or declared that they intend to intervene in South Africa’s ICJ genocide case

- ICC prosecutor has filed application for warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant

- Various legal groups have separately approached ICC for action against Netanyahu, Gallant, other ministers, and military officials    

ISTANBUL 

As Israel’s assault on Gaza rages on with unfettered ferocity, the chorus of voices calling for a halt to its deadly war is also growing louder, along with legal pressure being ratcheted up at various international forums.

Israel and its leaders are facing a series of legal threats, most importantly at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), with charges ranging from genocide to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

All of that has so far done little to deter Israel’s attacks on Gaza, where it has killed more than 36,600 Palestinians and injured over 83,000 others, the vast majority being women and children.

However, more countries and organizations are taking the legal route against Israel, ramping up pressure on Israel and raising the probability of a breakthrough in efforts to stop its devastating war.   

International Court of Justice

Spain has become the latest country wanting to join the case filed by South Africa against Israel at the ICJ.

At a press briefing on Thursday, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the country took “this decision in light of the continuation of the military operation in Gaza.”

“We also observe with enormous concern the regional extension of the conflict,” Albares said.

This came just days after Palestine filed an application seeking ICJ permission to intervene in the case.

The genocide case was filed by South Africa last December, and the world court issued provisional measures in late January, ordering Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent actions that could fall under the Genocide Convention.

It also ordered Tel Aviv to prevent and punish incitement to genocide, ensure aid flow to Gaza, and preserve evidence of crimes committed in the devastated enclave.

The court issued additional measures in March, ordering Israel to take action to address famine in Gaza and ensure “unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.”

Then on May 24, the top UN court told Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action” in Rafah “which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

It also ordered Israel to “maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” and “take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or other investigative body mandated by competent organs of the United Nations to investigate allegations of genocide.”

The court has given Israel one month to submit a report on all measures taken to implement these orders.

The ICJ Statute allows third parties to join in proceedings if they consider that they have “an interest of a legal nature which may be affected by the decision in the case.”

Since the preliminary ruling in January, at least five countries have formally approached the ICJ to intervene in the case: Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, and Palestine.

Seven others have announced their intention to intervene: Spain, Türkiye, Maldives, Egypt, Belgium, Ireland, and Chile.

In January, Nicaragua became the first to formally approach the top UN court, seeking permission to intervene “as a party” in the case, followed by Colombia which approached the court in April.

Libya and Mexico took the same step in May, followed by Palestine on June 3.

Legal expert Michael Becker explained to Anadolu that states have the right to intervene under Article 62 or Article 63 of the Genocide Convention.

The Article 63 route is much simpler, he said.

“In South Africa’s case against Israel, the treaty is the Genocide Convention, and that means that any other state that’s a party to the Genocide Convention has, in essence, a right to intervene as a non-party in the case,” he said.

“But the scope of that intervention is limited to that state giving its view on how the treaty should be interpreted. So, while it is easy to intervene under Article 63, it places limits on what you can address in your submissions to the court.”

For Article 62, it gets a bit more complicated as the intervening state or the state requesting to intervene has to show that it “has an interest of a legal nature which may be affected by the decision in the case.”

“This type of intervention is at the court’s discretion,” Becker added.  

International Criminal Court

On May 20, Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the ICC, announced he had filed an application seeking warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.

Among the charges laid out by Khan’s team against the Israeli officials are extermination, using starvation as a method of warfare, willfully causing great suffering, and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.

In all, Khan applied for arrest warrants for five people – Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif.

Governed by the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over cases pertaining to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression, and has the mandate to try individuals in criminal cases.

Last November, Khan announced he had received a referral of the Situation in the State of Palestine, from five states parties: South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, and Djibouti.

He confirmed that his office was conducting an investigation into the Situation in the State of Palestine, which commenced on March 3, 2021, and extended to the escalation of hostilities and violence since October 7 last year.

Several rights groups and organizations have also filed complaints against Israel at the ICC.

Just recently, the Dutch legal group Advocaten voor de Vrede, in collaboration with the March 30 Movement, lodged a comprehensive complaint with the ICC over Israel’s actions in Gaza.

It demanded arrest warrants for a number of Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, Gallant, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, and other officials of the Israeli military.

Various other legal groups have also been seeking ICC action against Israeli officials.

Lawyers for Peace, a group consisting of about 200 attorneys, has filed an application at the ICC against Netanyahu and 12 Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, Gallant, Ben-Gvir, Katz, Minister for the Advancement of Women’s Status May Golan, and seven senior military commanders.

Last year in November, lawyers for Palestinian victims of Israeli attacks on Gaza filed a case at the ICC, where the group’s representative Gilles Devers asserted that Israeli actions in Gaza constitute factors of the crime of genocide.

Another complaint before the ICC has come from a group of some 100 lawyers from Chile, who are seeking action against Netanyahu and other Israeli officials for “genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.”