Justice Aharon Barak confirmed today (Sunday) that he will serve as a judge on behalf of Israel International Court of Justice hearing in The Hague, which will deal with South Africa's lawsuit against Israel on the charge of "committing genocide".
As a reminder, in South Africa they filed a lawsuit against Israel on the charge of "committing genocide" against the Palestinians as part of the war in Gaza, with the first hearing of the lawsuit scheduled to take place next week. The Convention on the "Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide" was unanimously adopted by all members of the United Nations General Assembly in a UN resolution in 1948 and entered into force in January 1951, following World War II and the Holocaust.
The State of Israel joined the convention in 1949 and ratified it in 1950, and the Knesset even enacted a law regarding the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide in 1950.
Political Source: We Will Present Ourselves at the Discussion in The Hague
Last week, a political official said that Israel intends to appear at the initial hearing, with the aim of getting the petition rejected. However, regarding the possibility of the Israeli response to the situation where the tribunal issues an active order against Israel, such as calling for a cease-fire or referring to a humanitarian crisis, the source said that "we do not yet know how we will act if the tribunal issues an order. This is a decision of the political level and we will consider all options."
As part of the preparations for the initial hearing at the tribunal in The Hague, Israel is preparing to send the appropriate legal representatives: "Plaintiffs need to be appointed. We have legal advisors at the National Security Headquarters and the Legal Advice to the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Justice. They will be on the team when there is a proceeding in The Hague. We are turning to the plaintiffs, litigators who have definite knowledge appearing at the court. We did not publish who agreed because there is an application that is in process. We will inform the court and the public about it within a day or two.
"Also, we agree to a process in which we can appoint a judge on our behalf. Someone who is on our behalf will sit in all the discussions, vote and participate. He and the South African representative offset each other and there will indeed be someone like that. We are in the process of finding out who it will be. I estimate that there will be a decision on this issue as well within a day or two."
Today, as mentioned, Judge Aharon Barak confirmed that he will serve as a judge on behalf of Israel.