I propose to take Questions Nos. 36, 45, 63, 73, 75, 76, 79 and 85 together.
I have been closely monitoring developments in the case taken under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (‘Genocide Convention’) by South Africa against Israel in the International Court of Justice. The public hearings that took place on 11 and 12 January involved only the two parties to the proceedings, South Africa and Israel, and focused on the question of provisional measures. It is likely to take the Court some weeks to issue its ruling on this request. Any provisional measures ordered by the Court will be final and binding on the parties to which the orders are addressed.
The Court’s decision on provisional measures will be analysed carefully by the Government once it has been published and we will continue to consult closely with our international partners, including South Africa. Following this analysis and consultations, the Government will consider whether to seek permission to intervene and, if so, on what legal basis. This reflects the fact that the Statute of the Court provides a narrow legal basis on which third parties may be permitted to intervene in such cases and the need for careful and rigorous legal analysis of the relevant issues.
As with all other similar cases that have come before the Court, states normally seek permission to intervene in the case only once the applicant – in this case, South Africa – has filed its memorial, as occurred in the Ukraine v Russia and Gambia v Myanmar cases.
If states chose to do so in the case, they do not ‘join’ one side or another; rather, they submit a statement that asserts their interpretation of the provision of the Convention at issue, or they must identify a specific legal interest affected by the proceedings.
Ireland has participated in two advisory opinion cases before the International Court of Justice regarding the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory to date. In 2004, Ireland submitted a written statement on the ‘Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’.
In 2022, the UN General Assembly requested that the Court give an advisory opinion on the ‘Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem’. Ireland voted in favour of this resolution, and submitted a written statement to the Court last July. In this statement, Ireland provided its legal analysis of the occupation and of issues related to Israeli policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory. The oral proceedings in this case will take place in February. Ireland will participate. The Court will then give its opinion some months after the conclusion of the oral hearings.
The Government’s position on the current conflict remains that we need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, the end of Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israel, and rapid, full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to Gaza. These actions cannot wait for the Court’s decision on provisional measures; they need to happen now.