Spain applies to join South African case to UN highest court accusing Israel of genocide

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain on Thursday became the first European country to ask a United Nations court for permission to join the South African case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

South Africa filed its case with the International Court of Justice late last year. It claimed that Israel is violating the genocide convention with its military attack that has destroyed large parts of Gaza.

The court ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but only ordered a ceasefire for the enclave. Israel has not complied and shows no signs of doing so.

“There should be no doubt that Spain will remain on the right side of history,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said after his foreign minister made the announcement.

Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Libya and the Palestinians are waiting for the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, to approve their requests to join the case.

Israel denies committing genocide during its military operation to crush Hamas, sparked by the deadly October 7 attacks in southern Israel.

Hamas killed 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage in the surprise attacks. Israeli air and land strikes have since killed 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

“We are taking this decision because of the ongoing military operation in Gaza,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in Madrid. “We want peace to return to Gaza and the Middle East, and for that to happen we must all support the court.”

Once Spain is admitted to the case, it could submit written comments and speak at public hearings.

The Spanish request is the latest step by Sánchez’s left-wing coalition to support peace efforts in Gaza.

Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognized a Palestinian state on May 28 in a coordinated effort among the three Western European countries. Slovenia, a member of the European Union along with Spain and Ireland, followed suit and recognized the Palestinian state this week.

More than 140 countries have recognized a Palestinian state – more than two-thirds of the UN – but none of the major Western powers, including the United States, have done so.

While Sánchez has condemned Hamas’ attacks and joined demands for the return of the remaining Israeli hostages, he has not shied away from Israel’s diplomatic response. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that by recognizing a Palestinian state, Sánchez’s government was “complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes.”

Sanchez’s support for the Palestinians has been widely supported in Spain, where some university students have followed their American counterparts in campus protests. The Spaniards will vote on Sunday in the European Parliament elections.

Last year, the International Court of Justice allowed 32 countries, including Spain, to join Ukraine’s case, which alleges that Russia violated the Genocide Convention by falsely accusing Ukraine of committing genocide in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, and use that as a pretext for the invasion. .

Preliminary hearings have already been held in the genocide case against Israel, but it is expected that it will take years before the court reaches a final decision.

Albares said the Spanish government’s decision had the direct aim of putting pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to follow the court’s interim measures to stop the bloodshed in Rafah.

“I once again urge that these interim measures be respected,” Albares said. “Whether this is genocide or not, that is for the court to decide, and Spain will of course support its decision.”

Israel sent troops to the southern city of Rafah in early May in what they said was a limited incursion, but those troops are now operating in central parts of the city. Last week, Israeli attacks took place near a UN Palestinian refugee agency in Rafah, claiming they targeted Hamas militants. An inferno that followed ripped through nearby tents housing displaced families, killing at least 45 people.

More than 1 million people have fled Rafah since the operation began, spreading across southern and central Gaza in new tent camps or flocking to schools and homes.

Netanyahu also faces a separate legal challenge from the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant against the Israeli leader and others, including leaders of the militant Hamas group. The UN General Assembly supports the ICC, but the court is independent.