Lawyers look to Myanmar genocide case in bid to stop war
Lawyers seeking to halt Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip hope tactics that swayed judges on Myanmar’s alleged genocide of Rohingya Muslims will prevail again.
Arguments to restrain Israel will be heard by the International Court of Justice, in The Hague. They are similar to those employed by western countries against Myanmar.
Initial hearings began yesterday after South Africa took Israel to the ICJ, claiming aspects of its assault on Hamas are “genocidal in character”.
Although it could take years for a full verdict, South Africa is asking for emergency measures in which Israel is ordered to call off its campaign.
The ICJ took similar steps in 2020 when it told Myanmar to prevent the killings of the Rohingya minority.
The court has no way of enforcing such verdicts, but an order from The Hague could pile international pressure on Israel to pause its offensive.
A leading Israeli law professor has acknowledged that the inflammatory words of some of the country’s politicians and television presenters could create difficulties as they could be construed as incitement to genocide.
“This is a process that would generate legally binding decisions in a context … that could complicate [Israel’s] war effort in Gaza,” Prof Yuval Shany said.
“Court order measures that require Israel to stop the war, or allow civilians in the south to head back north, would have significant complications for Israel.”
The court’s decision could have an “impact in real-time on the war” against Hamas. Israel, he said, “would not want allegations on the record accusing it of genocide”.
Speaking from the University of Jerusalem, Prof Shany said it was a case “that Israel feels that it could win” and that genocide was a “notoriously difficult charge to make before the International Court of Justice”.
Belgium is set to discuss joining South Africa’s cause at the ICJ after a senior minister called for a legal response to “unimaginable, horrific acts” in the Gaza Strip.
The Myanmar verdict has been cited more than two dozen times in legal documents filed by South Africa.
Israel may argue that South Africa has no link to the Palestinian enclave and therefore
Western countries have been cautious in criticising Israel and most do not support South Africa’s action
no right to bring the case. However, in the Gaza case, western countries have generally been cautious in criticising Israel’s conduct and most do not support South Africa’s action at the ICJ.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said on Tuesday that the UK did not agree with South Africa’s move, despite acknowledging Israel could be legally vulnerable.
The US has described the South African lawsuit as “meritless, counterproductive and completely without any basis in fact whatsoever”.
Only one previous case of genocide has been proven, when Serbia was found guilty of it during the Balkans War, especially the Srebrenica massacre in which 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were murdered in 1995.