Belgium has officially joined the International Court of Justice case initiated by South Africa, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, the ICJ reported Tuesday.
South Africa initially brought the accusation against Israel before the court over alleged violations of the Genocide Convention in relation to the war in Gaza in December 2023. Israel subsequently rejected the allegation of genocide, calling it “baseless.”
Belgium joined South Africa by submitting a declaration of intervention under Article 63 of the ICJ Statute, which allows states that are party to the Genocide Convention to intervene in proceedings concerning its interpretation. It is now allowed to take part in the construction and development of the ICJ case.
As a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention, Belgium says the court’s interpretation of critical articles, particularly the definition of genocidal intent, could have legal implications for it.
Any interpretation the ICJ provides regarding these treaty provisions will also be legally binding on Belgium.
South Africa and Israel have been asked by the court to submit written responses to Belgium’s request to intervene.
South African ICJ genocide case against Israel
Since the case began two years ago, the court has issued multiple provisional measures orders in January, March, and May 2024, including reaffirming and expanding earlier measures.
Belgium is joining a growing number of countries that have sought to intervene in this case, including Colombia, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, and Turkey.
Some of these states have intervened specifically to address issues of treaty interpretation, while others say they have a direct legal interest in the outcome.
In April, the ICJ extended Israel’s time to respond to South Africa’s genocide claims against it for its conduct in Gaza by six months, from the original July 28 deadline to January 12, 2026.
According to the order, Israel requested an extension for three main reasons: 1) procedural and substantive problems relating to the timing and manner of South Africa presenting its evidence, with many of those issues still open for the court to decide; 2) parallel new ICJ proceeding Israel will soon need to contend with to respond to claims of starvation and cutting off humanitarian aid; and 3) the voluminous number of additional claims by other states, such as Ireland, against Israel, which Israel must now also respond to, along with South Africa.
In January 2024, Israel succeeded in derailing South Africa’s attempt to get the ICJ to order an immediate halt to the war.
This victory eventually brought Israel around 18 months to the point where it would need to provide a more detailed defense of its narrative.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this story.