UK Accused of Double Standards on Genocide Case against Israel at ICJ
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The British government faces accusations of double standards as it submitted detailed legal arguments to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) supporting claims of genocide by Myanmar but refrains from doing the same in the case of Israel.
Late in December, South Africa initiated proceedings against Israel at the ICJ over the regime's genocidal war on Gaza, resulting in nearly 23,000 Palestinian deaths. The lawsuit contends that Israel's aggressions are "genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group."
In early January, the ICJ's judges in The Hague announced that they would hear South Africa's case against Israel after the African country urgently sought a declaration that the Tel Aviv regime breached its international law responsibilities since October 7, when it initiated the Gaza onslaught.
The UK, in a 21-page "declaration of intervention" jointly submitted with five other countries in the Myanmar genocide case, does not extend similar support to South Africa's efforts to prove Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people.
Israel, responding to the accusations, asserts that its actions aim to dismantle the Hamas resistance movement, not harm the Palestinian people. A report by The Guardian on Sunday quotes Tayab Ali, head of international law at Bindmans law firm, stating that the UK's significance in the Myanmar case lies in showing commitment to the UN Genocide Convention and a broad definition of acts of genocide and intent.
Ali adds, "It would be wholly disingenuous if the UK, six weeks after advancing such a significant and broad definition of genocide in the case of Myanmar, now adopts a narrow one in the case of Israel."
The UK's submission on Myanmar emphasizes the importance of considering children in assessing genocide. However, when it comes to Israel, the report notes that London ignores the nearly 10,000 children and babies killed in Gaza, accounting for around 40 percent of the fatalities.
According to a leak to the US news website Axios, Israel has instructed its diplomats to build international opposition to the South African case, pointing out potential adverse ramifications on bilateral, multilateral, economic, and security fronts.
The Israeli regime is also taking steps to distance itself from some extreme remarks about displacing Palestinians from Gaza made by its ministers and officials.