Israel’s war on Gaza and the ‘obligation to prevent genocide’
Al Jazeera
Experts say ICJ case accusing Israel of genocide highlights Genocide Convention duties and a need for political will.
It was just days into Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip when a grave warning rang out.
United Nations experts had sounded the alarm that Palestinians in Gaza faced a risk of genocide. The Israeli army was battering the coastal enclave, forcing most of the population from their homes and imposing a stringent blockade barring food, water and other supplies from getting in.
More warnings have since followed alongside calls for the international community to act.
Now, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to hear a case alleging Israel is committing genocidal acts in Gaza, global attention is again focused on what can — or should — be done to stop the war and prevent crimes like genocide.
South Africa, the country that brought the case to the ICJ, invoked in its decision an “obligation to prevent genocide” as a signatory to the United Nations Genocide Convention — something experts say is a critical step in such cases.
