Palestinians laud SA’s victory against tyranny
Following a unanimous ruling by the justices to order Israel to stop the mayhem, everyone will be able to raise their glasses and celebrate South Africa’s historic moment at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
Stopping madness means the blood-thirsty Israel must prevent acts of genocide as prescribed by the Genocide Convention, an international treaty that criminalises genocide.
Human rights and life have become commodities in the beleaguered settlement of the occupied Gaza Strip, which has been reduced to a scene of death for the Palestinian people.
Both the US under Joe Biden and Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu continue to be unyielding, refusing to acknowledge that the one-sided carnage inflicted on the Gaza population can be considered genocide, as defined by the UN Top Court, which is tasked with stopping egregious violations of human rights.
The Biden administration needs to quit talking out of both sides of its mouth. While the US administration brazenly continues to arm the Israeli Army to the teeth and provide them with military support to carry out the deadly bombardment of the occupied territory, on the one hand, it claims that the ICJ ruling is consistent with Biden’s calls for Israel to minimise harm to civilians.
Netanyahu has assured the world that “Israel will continue to do whatever is required to defend itself”, and he is as brash and cruel as ever in the face of the ICJ ruling.
He rejects the charge of genocide levelled against his country as “false” and “outrageous”.
Over 26 000 people have lost their lives, and close to 65 000 have suffered significant injuries. The figures are astonishing.
And yet, we believe that these outbursts from deranged and twisted minds shouldn’t be sufficient to downplay the brave stand adopted by South Africa in its principled decision to challenge the combined strength of Israel and the US in the International Court of Justice. As they say, this was a brave move that will help to save humanity from harm and injustice.
We are proud of our nation and the bravery shown by the Ramaphosa administration in taking a strong stance against tyranny and standing tall in the international arena with the firm confidence that justice will ultimately triumph and the world will improve.
South Africa has been there. We are aware of the suffering that comes with oppression. Despite criticism from various areas, what we have demonstrated by taking Israel to court is human unity.
As for our legal eagles, we cannot thank them enough for placing before the justices of the ICJ a strong and credible case to indict Israel for indulging in acts of genocide.
How does it feel to hear that the Gazans are grateful for our efforts to bring justice to their doorstep? This is something we South Africans should be proud of.
The ICJ court is significant. And South Africa towers above all.
This is what human solidarity is all about. An injury to one is an injury to all.
