Türkiye intervenes in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at The Hague
Protesters gather holding a Palestinian flag outside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as judges rule on emergency measures against Israel following accusations by South Africa that the Israeli military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide, in The Hague, Netherlands, January 26, 2024. (Reuters Photo)
Türkiye will submit its dossier today in The Hague to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine and Spain have also requested to intervene in South Africa’s case. The Court has yet to decide on these applications.
According to the rules, the Court will notify the parties involved in the ongoing case, South Africa and Israel, about the intervention declarations and request their written statements.
Cuneyt Yuksel, Chairman of the Justice Commission of the Turkish parliament and ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Istanbul MP stated that the legal delegation of the parliament commission will submit the application file today in The Hague to intervene in the “genocide” case filed by South Africa against Israel at the ICJ.
4-5 years of process
The deadline for Israel to present its counterarguments is set for July 28, 2025. Considering the Court’s previous jurisprudence, the case process is expected to take 4-5 years.
Commenting on Türkiye’s step in The Hague is a right granted to all states under the Court’s statute, experts said.
Highlighting that other countries have also requested to intervene in the Court proceedings, law experts emphasize: “As the region’s most powerful state, Türkiye’s involvement in such a case is very important. This will strengthen the decision to be made against Israel, enhancing its legitimacy and legal impact. The non-enforcement of ICJ decisions because of vetoes in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is a significant problem.”
‘Ready from first moment’
On the other hand, before leaving for The Hague, Yuksel spoke at Istanbul Airport’s VIP Terminal about Türkiye’s application to intervene in the “genocide” case at the ICJ.
“From the very first moment, we, as Türkiye, declared that we would intervene in this case and on May 31, our embassy in The Hague officially registered that we would intervene in this case by submitting a note to the International Court of Justice,” Yuksel said.
Highlighting that Türkiye prepared an application from the very first moment, Yuksel added: “From the very first moment, under the leadership of our president, we prepared an application for intervention by doing all the legal and technical work and by presenting information and documents and evidence, including examples of international law, the International Court of Justice and previous genocide cases and decisions of international criminal courts.”
