The Egyptian government announced today (Sunday) that it would join the South African government's lawsuit at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry made the announcement as Israel prepares for a military operation in Rafah to destroy the last four battalions of the Hamas terrorist organization.
“These attacks include deliberate targeting of civilians, infrastructure destruction, forced displacement, and creating unbearable living conditions, leading to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza. These actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law, humanitarian law, and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 regarding the protection of civilians during wartime,” the ministry stated.
The statement called on Israel to fulfill its obligations, including "implementing interim measures issued by the International Court of Justice to ensure adequate access to humanitarian aid that meets the needs of Palestinians in Gaza and to refrain from committing any violations against the Palestinian people, who are protected under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide."
Egypt has refused to allow a single refugee from Gaza or Rafah to enter the bordering Sinai Penninsula to escape the conflict, even on a temporary basis, It has also closed the Rafah Crossing to humanitarian aid.
In January, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the ICJ, accusing the Jewish state of carrying out genocide in Gaza.
On January 26, the ICJ handed down a ruling in South Africa’s case, saying that Israel must do everything to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza and take "immediate" measures for aid provisions. It did not, however, order Israel to stop the war in Gaza.
In early March, the court rejected South Africa’s request that it take urgent measures to prevent Israel from operating in the Gazan city of Rafah.
In late April, former ICJ President Joan Donoghue told the BBC that media reports that ruled that it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip are inaccurate and a misrepresentation of the court's ruling that the Palestinian Arabs have the right to be protected from genocide and that South Africa has the right to present its claims to the court.
On Friday, South Africa submitted an urgent request to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), asking it to impose additional provisional measures against Israel following the operation in the Gazan city of Rafah.
In its new request, South Africa stated that the provisional measures previously indicated by the Court “are not capable of ‘fully address[ing]’ the changed circumstances and new facts on which [its] request is founded.”