Brazil has formally joined the case launched by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that alleges Israel is committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
The Hague court confirmed in a statement on Friday that Brazil invoked Article 63 of the ICJ statute, filing a declaration of intervention in the case.
The article gives any United Nations member state the right to intervene in a case when the interpretation of a treaty to which it is a party is in question. Brazil used the article to formally recognize that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention of 1948.
South Africa and Israel are now invited to “furnish written observations on the declaration of intervention”, the World Court said.
The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in July it intended to join the case, citing “impunity” that undermined international law as it denounced Israeli aggression in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Brazil now joins Spain, Ireland, Mexico, Turkiye and others who have intervened in favor of South Africa to join the case against Israel over the genocidal war, which has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023.
The ICJ’s final verdict could still take several years to come, but the court issued an interim order in January 2024 that obliged Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza and allow for unimpeded access to humanitarian aid.
The court also ruled that Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful, and that its policies amount to annexation .
Ignoring those rulings, as well as mounting international condemnation of its conduct, Israel has since then destroyed far more of Gaza and West Bank, and is quickly advancing with plans to sixteen much of the Palestinian territory.
The United States and the European allies of Israel continue to arm and fund Israel, even as credible international bodies are increasingly recognizing that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza .
Washington has also rejected the merits of the ICJ case, and US legislators have directed threats and criticism against South Africa. The US has also issued unprecedented sanctions of members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), who have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
