The court, the highest judicial body of the United Nations, said in a statement Tuesday that "Belgium today formally submitted a declaration to intervene in the proceedings, based on Article 63 of the Statute of the Court."
Belgium stated in the request that its intervention focuses on Articles 1 to 6 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, according to the court based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Belgium, which has recognized the State of Palestine and imposed sanctions on Israeli officials, pays particular attention to Article 2 , specifically with regard to the interpretation of the "specific intent" needed to prove genocide.
The court invited both South Africa and Israel to submit written observations regarding Belgium's intervention, in accordance with Article 83 of the court's rules of procedure. There was no immediate comment from Tel Aviv on Brussels' move.
With American support, Israel began a war of extermination in Gaza on October 7, 2023, which left about 71,000 martyrs and more than 171,000 wounded Palestinians, most of them children and women.
A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel began on October 10, but the latter violates it daily, resulting in the deaths of 406 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry on Tuesday.
On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel, accusing it of violating its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in its actions against Palestinians in Gaza.
Subsequently, several countries joined this lawsuit, including Türkiye, Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, Mexico and Spain, in the wake of an Israeli war of extermination that sparked popular and official outrage around the world.
On March 28 and January 26, 2024, the court issued two sets of provisional measures requested by South Africa.
These measures include providing basic services, humanitarian aid, supplies and medical care to approximately 2.4 million Palestinian citizens throughout Gaza.
But Israel continued to ignore those measures by closing the crossings into Gaza, plunging the sector into famine, and is currently preventing the entry of sufficient food and medical supplies, in violation of the agreement.
The court also issued an advisory opinion on July 29, 2024, stressing that Israel’s continued presence on the occupied Palestinian territory is “illegal”.
She also stressed that international organizations, including the United Nations, are obligated not to recognize the situation arising from this illegal presence.
In 1948, Israel was established on lands occupied by armed Zionist gangs who committed massacres and displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Tel Aviv then occupied the rest of the Palestinian territories and refuses to withdraw and allow the establishment of a Palestinian state.
While the International Court of Justice deals with disputes between states, the International Criminal Court (also in The Hague) focuses on individuals.
In 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.
