Turkey joins South Africa's ICJ genocide case against Israel

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Turkey joined South Africa’s case against Israel on Wednesday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, a diplomatic official has confirmed to The National.

Ankara has presented its filing for the case – known legally as an "intervention" – to the UN court's seat in the Netherlands, the source said, following remarks by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a visit to Egypt last weekend.

Turkey is one of around 150 countries that have signed the UN Genocide Convention, making it eligible to intervene in cases concerning the treaty. State parties to the convention – including South Africa and Israel – are bound to make attempts to prevent and to punish acts of genocide.

The move makes Turkey the latest country to join South Africa’s case, in which it accuses Israel of breaching the UN's Genocide Convention in its military operations in Gaza.

“According to the court rules, the ICJ will notify the parties to the case [South Africa and Israel] of the declaration of intervention and request their written observations,” the Turkish diplomatic official said.

“The court will make its decision on admissibility, if necessary by holding an oral hearing.”

Turkey's legal team flew to the Netherlands to present the filing, according to Turkish media and politicians.

“The petition for intervention expresses how the relevant articles of the Genocide Convention should be interpreted, especially within the context of the massacres committed by Israel in Gaza since October 7, 2023," said Cuneyt Yuksel, head of the Turkish Parliament's justice committee, in a post on X.

"With its application for intervention, Turkey will show the entire world that it stands by the Palestinian cause and against the inhuman genocide in Gaza, also in the eyes of international law."

Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico and Spain, as well as Palestinian officials, have already filed similar interventions in the case, although the court has yet to rule on their admissibility. Egypt also recently signalled its intent to join the case.

Israel has denied accusations of genocide and claims its military operations in Gaza are a legitimate response to eliminate Hamas after its October 7 attacks, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and at least 240 were taken hostage by Hamas militants.

More than 39,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 10 months, with tens of thousands injured.

In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians. In May, it said that Israel should halt a planned military offensive in Gaza's southern Rafah province, and ensure unhindered humanitarian aid access through the border crossing with Egypt.

But a final ruling on whether Israel has breached the Genocide Convention could take years and any decision will not be legally binding.

Before Turkey's application on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry's representative in Ankara urged the ICJ's previous orders to be "implemented as soon as possible".

Israel's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Turkey’s move is the latest in a series of actions that have distanced Ankara from its previously healthy economic ties with Israel, and has frozen previously warming diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Turkish and Israeli officials have exchanged strong criticism on social media. This week Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an “anti-Semitic dictator”.

The Turkish leader has described Hamas members as “freedom fighters" and even normally reserved Turkish diplomats, including Mr Fidan, have traded barbed comments online with Israeli officials.

In May, Ankara banned trade with Israel, leading to a steep drop in business previously worth hundreds of millions of dollars every month.

Mass marches have taken place across Turkey in protest over the war in Gaza. The two countries have yet to downgrade diplomatic ties officially.