The head of the court adds that a panel of 17 justices determined that the court has the necessary authority. The International Court of Justice decided on Friday, January 26, not to dismiss Israel’s genocide case. The court has “prima facie jurisdiction to entertain the case on the basis of Article 9 of the Genocide Convention,” according to Judge Joan E. Donoghue. According to the AP, the court’s president adds that a panel of 17 judges came to the conclusion that the court had proper jurisdiction and, as a result, “cannot accede to Israel’s request for the case to be removed.”
The president of IOJ declares that the court will not dismiss Israel’s genocide lawsuit. The World Court heard a hearing on South Africa’s request to impose temporary sanctions on Israel for allegedly committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza on Friday.
Donoghue addressed the Israel-Hamas conflict, stating that the fighting “is inflicting substantial loss of civilian infrastructure, enormous human fatalities, and the displacement of the overwhelming majority of the population in Gaza,” according to the site.
The court has also instructed Israel “to take steps to try to reduce further deaths and damage in the Gaza Strip but stopped short of demanding a stop to the blistering offensive that has decimated the Palestinian territory.”
Donoghue went on to say that the court was “of the view that Israel must take measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide.”
South African officials have expressed gratitude with the supreme court’s judgment. “Today marks a decisive victory for the international rule of law and a significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people,” the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement, according to Reuters.