The International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing at Peace Palace heard a powerful speech about the risk of irreparable harm to Palestine.
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The court is hearing oral arguments in the case of South Africa versus Israel, which was filed at the ICJ last month after South Africa accused Israel of ‘genocidal’ acts in Gaza.
Blinne Ni Ghrálaigh KC, an Irish lawyer, spoke about the urgency of action and the risk of irreparable harm to Palestine.
‘This has been described as a crisis of humanity. Famine is around the corner, and for children, the last 12 weeks have been particularly traumatic. Gaza has become inhabitable, and they are experiencing threats to their very existence,’ said Ní Ghrálaigh.
According to Ni Ghrálaigh, as the war progresses, more people will be forced to relocate and more people will be martyred.
‘Entire multi-generational families will be obliterated. The children will eventually be called a WCNSF — wounded child, no surviving family — the terrifying new acronym that came out of this.’
The lawyer bemoaned the fact that the call for a humanitarian ceasefire had been ignored and cited several cases, including those in The Gambia and Myanmar, where provincial measures were justified.
‘Most recently, with Ukraine and Russia, the court found destruction of buildings and infrastructure, giving rise to irreparable harm. The court considered that many persons do not have access to essential needs and that many attempted to flee. This is appearing in Gaza on a much more extensive scale for a population that has nowhere safe to go.’
Ni Ghrálaigh also revealed shocking statistics, revealing that four out of every five Palestinians in Gaza face starvation, and 245 Palestinian civilians face death every day.
‘Israel continues to deny that it has started the crisis, even as Palestinians starve. Nowhere and nobody is safe. The international community continues to fail the Palestinian people. This is the first genocide in history, as the victims are broadcasting their own deaths and demise. This failure doesn’t only have effects on the people of Gaza, but also on the future.’
‘The world should be absolutely horrified, and the world should be ashamed,’ she concluded.
Watch the court case live here.
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Picture: Murray Swart / Cape {town} Etc