The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that Cairo intended to join the case due to escalating Israeli aggression against Palestinian civilians, Al Jazeera reported.
“The submission … comes in light of the worsening severity and scope of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, and the continued perpetration of systematic practices against the Palestinian people, including direct targeting of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure in the Strip, and pushing Palestinians to flee,” the ministry said in a statement.
South Africa brought its case against Israel in January, accusing the country of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza, which began in October, has surpassed 35,000, and most of the dead are women and children, according to Palestinian authorities.
Israel launched the assault after Hamas led an attack on southern Israel, killing at least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.
The top United Nations court issued an interim ruling in January that found there was a plausible risk of genocide in the enclave and ordered Israel to take a series of provisional measures, including preventing any genocidal acts from taking place.
The court, which sits in The Hague, rejected a second South African application for emergency measures made in March over Israel’s threat to attack Rafah.
Egypt will join Turkey and Colombia in formally requesting to join the case against Israel. This month, Turkey said it would seek to join the case after the South American country asked the ICJ last month to allow it to join to ensure “the safety and, indeed, the very existence of the Palestinian people”.
Egypt said it is calling on Israel “to comply with its obligations as the occupying power and to implement the provisional measures issued by the ICJ, which require ensuring access to humanitarian and relief aid in a manner that meets the needs of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip”.
It also demands that Israeli forces do not commit any violations against the Palestinian people.
MNA
Your Comment