Mexico will intervene in the case against Israel before the ICJ due to the risk of genocide in Gaza

May 28. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced this Tuesday that Mexico will intervene in the case opened against Israel following the complaint presented by South Africa at the end of December in which it warned of possible genocide in the Gaza Strip.

“On May 24, 2024, Mexico, invoking article 63 of the Statute of the Court, presented at the court’s secretariat a declaration of intervention in the case relating to the ‘Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa against Israel),'” reads a statement.

Mexico, as a country that has ratified the international treaty, “seeks to intervene in order to provide its opinion on the possible interpretation of the content of the provisions of the Convention relevant to this case,” it noted in the request.

This comes after the ICJ last Friday ordered Israel to immediately stop its offensive on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, after South Africa requested additional measures after accusing Israel of disregarding previous measures. issued by the United Nations court.

Specifically, the ICJ called on Israel to “immediately suspend its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah governorate that could inflict on the Palestinian population living conditions that could lead to their physical destruction, whether total or partial.”

The court also demanded that Israel “keep open the Rafah crossing,” which the Palestinian side assumed control at the beginning of the month “for the large-scale and unrestricted supply of humanitarian assistance.”

Furthermore, the court urged Israel to take “effective measures” to guarantee “unhindered access to the Gaza Strip” to “any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or fact-finding body commissioned by the competent UN bodies to investigate accusations of genocide.”

South Africa argued in a petition on May 10 that Israeli authorities have “disregarded” the ICJ, as provisional measures issued in January and March by the court have been “ignored” and “violated” by Israel.