Turkey will bid to join ICJ genocide case against Israel, source says

[August 07, 2024]  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey will submit on Wednesday a declaration of intervention in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, a diplomatic source said.  

The declaration will happen at 1330 GMT, the source added, after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said this week that Turkey would make the declaration on Wednesday.

View of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ahead of a hearing where South Africa requests new emergency measures over Israel's attacks on Rafah as part of an ongoing case South Africa filed at the ICJ in December last year accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention during its offensive against Palestinians in Gaza, in The Hague, Netherlands May 16, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

"Turkey's intervention pushes the international community to recognize and address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza," the source said.

In May, Turkey said it had decided to join the case launched by South Africa as it stepped up measures against Israel over the assault on Gaza, adding that its bid would follow the necessary legal preparations.

In June, Spain said it had asked to intervene in the case at the ICJ, the highest legal body of the United Nations set up in 1945 to deal with disputes between states.

Israel has repeatedly dismissed the case's accusations of genocide as baseless, arguing in court that its operations in Gaza are self-defense and targeted at Hamas militants who attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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