Spain wants to be the first EU country to join South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced this in Madrid on Thursday. It is a “large-scale war that does not distinguish between civilian and military targets,” criticized Albares. The “risk of escalation is increasing every time,” he warned.
“We have decided to take this step after observing in recent days that the measures ordered by the International Court of Justice are being completely ignored and are far from being respected,” Albares said at a press conference.
Before Spain, Turkey, Egypt and Chile, among others, announced their support for the South African lawsuit. Spain has long been one of the harshest critics of Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip. The left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had already suspended all arms exports to Israel in October. At the end of May, Madrid, like Norway and Ireland, decided to recognize Palestine as a state.
South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel at the end of 2023, accusing the country of violating the Genocide Convention. In an emergency ruling, the UN court ordered Israel to take protective measures to prevent genocide. Israel must also allow more humanitarian aid for the people in the Gaza Strip. At the end of May, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately end the controversial military operation in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Israel denies the genocide allegations. The country is invoking its right to self-defense after terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups attacked southern Israel on October 7 and killed around 1,200 people.