File photo: Seats of the judges at the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, May 23, 2024. AP
“Yesterday, Chile, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel),” an ICJ press release posted on X said.
The ICJ has invited both South Africa and Israel to submit written observations in response to Chile’s declaration of intervention and stated that the full text of Chile's declaration is available on the court's website.
According to the ICJ statement, the court’s judgment will be binding on both the original parties and Chile, aligning with the rules for such interventions.
Earlier in June, Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced his country’s intent to join the case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in its assault on Gaza.
"Chile will become a party to and support the case that South Africa presented against Israel before the International Court of Justice in The Hague," Boric told his country’s National Congress.
In December, South Africa brought a case before the ICJ, accusing Israel of violating the 1948 UN Genocide Convention during its war on Gaza. This convention, established in the wake of World War II and the Holocaust, aims to prevent and punish acts of genocide.
Several countries, including Nicaragua, Palestine, Turkey, Spain, Mexico, Libya, and Colombia, have joined South Africa’s case against Israel.
Egypt has also announced it will intervene in support of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, citing the growing scale of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The latest intervention by Chile comes as South Africa announced in a presidential statement on Wednesday that it will file its memorial to the ICJ next month, presenting evidence that proves Israel is committing genocide in Palestine.
The ICJ has already ordered Israel to take "preliminary measures" to prevent acts of genocide in its war on Gaza, a directive that Israel has failed to follow.
The court also declared in a historic ruling in July that Israel's 57-year occupation of Palestinian land was "illegal," calling on Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.
In May, the top UN court ordered Israel to halt military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israel has continued its assault. Since then, one million people have fled the area, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Chile has recognized Palestine as a state since 2011, and Boric has previously stated that the war on Gaza has "no justification" and is "unacceptable."
Israel's relentless bombardment and ground invasion have killed at least 41,118 Palestinians in Gaza. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
The Israeli war has also left large swathes of Gaza in ruins and displaced the vast majority of its 2.4 million people at least once.
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