Ireland's government officially granted approval for the country to join with South Africa's "genocide" lawsuit against Israel in the International Court of Justice in the Hague today (Wednesday), according to the Irish Independent.
Ireland has thus become part of a growing list of countries accusing Israel not only of human rights violations but also of genocide under the Genocide Convention. This list includes countries such as Chile, Brazil, Malaysia, Spain, Pakistan, Turkey, and even the state of Syria before its collapse.
Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin said that "Ireland will be asking the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a State" and that “we are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimised."
Israel has completely rejected the court's assertions, and the American State Department has also expressed its strong disagreement with the determination that Israel is committing genocide.
The United States has further utterly rejected the International Criminal Court's decision to issue warrants for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on the charges of genocide.
