Belgian ministers have pledged their country’s support to a lawsuit brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking an end to Israel’s atrocities in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Belgian Minister of Development and Cooperation, Caroline Genes, made the call in a series of social media posts over the weekend.
“If the International Court of Justice requires #Israel to cease its military operations in #Gaza, our country will fully support it,” she said in an X post on Sunday.
He said Belgium’s position was “a step in the right direction”.
“Our country has a responsibility to human rights and humanitarian law. Meanwhile, I will continue to work at all levels to achieve humanitarian access to Gaza as soon as possible.”
Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra de Sutter recently made a similar call, stating that her country cannot remain silent in response to Israel’s threat of genocide in Gaza and expressing support for the lawsuit brought by South Africa. ‘.
“Belgium cannot stand by and watch the endless suffering of the people of Gaza. We must act against the threat of genocide.
“I would like Belgium to follow South Africa’s example and litigate the case at the International Court of Justice. I will make this proposal to the Belgian government.”
South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel in late December after nearly three months of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The complaint said Israel’s actions “have a genocidal character because they are aimed at destroying a significant part of the Palestinian people, race, and ethnicity.”
The application also states that Israel’s attacks violate the United Nations Genocide Convention, urging the court to “cease killing and inflicting serious mental and physical harm on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. “I command you to do this.”
South Africa has been one of the outspoken critics of Israel’s continued onslaught against Palestinians and has led efforts to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza.
In November, the country referred Israel to the International Criminal Court, which is already investigating the occupied Palestinian territories.
That same month, the country’s lawmakers voted to close the Israeli embassy in Pretoria and suspend all diplomatic relations until the onslaught stops.
More countries have joined South Africa in a lawsuit filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the regime’s genocidal war in the besieged Gaza Strip.
In response to the escalation of crimes against the Palestinian people by the occupation regime, Israel launched the Gaza War on October 7, after Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Palestinian resistance group carried out a surprise attack on the occupied territory called Operation Al-Aqsa Storm. It started.
On the 107th day of the US-Israeli genocide in Gaza, the death toll has risen to more than 25,000 people, the majority of them women and children.