MAR 13, 2026
South Africa’s 2023 genocide case at the International Court of Justice has now drawn 18 participating states
The Netherlands and Iceland filed declarations on 11 March to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), using Article 63 of the court statute to formally join proceedings interpreting the Genocide Convention.
Iceland’s filing places particular emphasis on the impact of the war on Gaza’s children. Its declaration states that “attacks on children, including killing and causing serious bodily or mental harm, require special scrutiny as they are particularly indicative of intent to destroy the group.”
Both governments said their interventions aim to address how the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide applies to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
With the addition of the Netherlands and Iceland, 18 states – including South Africa – have now intervened in the genocide case against Israel at the ICJ, among them Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, and Turkiye.
The Netherlands’ submission highlights conditions imposed on civilians during the genocide, citing the displacement of more than one million residents, the killing of at least 20,000 children, and the deliberate blocking of humanitarian aid, which directly led to a deadly famine.
The filing urges judges to “take account of starvation or the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid for the purpose of establishing specific intent,” particularly when such actions occur “on the basis of a concerted plan of a consistent pattern of conduct.”
Article II of the Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”
These acts include killing members of a group, inflicting serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately imposing conditions calculated to bring about destruction, preventing births, or transferring children.
A UN commission of inquiry officially announced in September 2025 that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, concluding that Israeli authorities carried out four of the five acts defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the Israeli rights organization B’Tselem have also each independently concluded that Israel’s conduct in Gaza constitutes “genocide.”
While ICJ rulings are legally binding for states, the court does not prosecute individuals. Separate proceedings at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have produced arrest warrants for war criminals, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for their central roles in the Gaza genocide.
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