Turkey to Join South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel in ICJ

CAIRO: Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, said today that his country will submit its file this Wednesday to join the genocide case filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague. He made these remarks during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelaty, in the Egyptian capital Cairo. Fidan said the Israeli provocations pose a great danger and must be stopped, otherwise, the world will pay a heavy price for them. 'Therefore, we have decided to be a party to the case filed against Israel before the International Court of Justice," he said. Fidan added that the Israeli attack on various areas in the Gaza Strip has been a major threat over the past ten months, stressing that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, does not want peace, but rather wants to burn the entire region. For his part, Abdelaty said that the discussions with his Turkish counterpart addressed the growing regional challenges regarding the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza. He stressed the need to avoid an explosion in the situation in the West Bank as a result of provocative colonial policies, affirming the necessity to coordinate efforts to maintain security and stability in the region. The Egyptian minister stressed that the international community must work to stop the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel before the ICJ, on the grounds of its involvement in "acts of genocide" against citizens in the Gaza Strip. Since the issuance of the initial rulings, the State of Palestine and several countries have come forward to intervene in the case using a clause in the Statute of the ICJ that allows third parties to join the proceedings. Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, and Chile, Spain, Mexico and other countries have also announced their intention to join the measures. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA