Irish Foreign and Defense Minister Michael Martin announced last night that Dublin will intervene in South Africa's case against Israel under the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
"After analysis of the legal and political issues that emerged in the case and consultation with international partners - reads a statement from the Government of the Republic of Ireland - the tanaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister, ed.) ordered officials to begin work on a Declaration of Intervention under Article 63 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. The intention is that the Statement of Intervention will be lodged once South Africa has lodged its brief. This is likely to take several months.
Ireland will work closely with a number of partners who confirmed their intention to intervene".
"It is up to the Court to determine whether genocide is being committed," Martin said in the statement, "but I want to be clear in reiterating that what we saw on October 7 in Israel and what we are seeing now in Gaza represents blatant violations of international humanitarian law on a large scale: the taking of hostages; the intentional withholding of humanitarian assistance to civilians; the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure; the indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas; the use of civilian objects for military purposes; the collective punishment of an entire population The list could continue, but it must end. The international community's point of view is clear: enough is enough."
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