Ireland has announced its intention to intervene in South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), calling for a broader interpretation of the Genocide Convention.
“There has been a collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of military actions of Israel in Gaza, leaving 44,000 dead and millions of civilians displaced,” said Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin.
“We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimised.”
“Ireland’s view of the convention is broader and prioritises the protection of civilian life. As a committed supporter of the convention, the Government will promote that interpretation in its intervention in this case.”
Ireland has also approved intervention in The Gambia’s case against Myanmar under the same convention. Martin stressed that the dual interventions reflect the “consistency of Ireland’s approach to the interpretation and application of the Genocide Convention.”
Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Department described these legal moves as efforts to ensure that the ICJ broadens its understanding of genocide, aiming to hold states accountable for actions that inflict mass harm on civilian populations.
The intervention has been welcomed by human rights advocates, including Amnesty International. Stephen Bowen, executive director of Amnesty Ireland, described the move as a “glimmer of hope” but called for more decisive action.
“Those like Ireland who have called for a ceasefire must join with other like-minded states to create this common platform to end the genocide. They must be resolute; they must be relentless; they must be loud, clear, visible. This is genocide. This must stop,” he said.
Israel has dismissed the genocide allegations as baseless. Deputy Attorney General Gilad Noam, speaking at the ICJ earlier this year, argued that the claims are “completely divorced from the facts and circumstances” and accused critics of “making a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide.”
The Israeli government has described Amnesty International’s report as fabricated and labelled its accusations as a “classic example of antisemitism.”
Read more from Sky News here, the Independent here and the Jerusalem Post here.
