IRISH OFFICIALS WILL engage with South Africa over the coming months as the government considers whether to intervene in the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

An intervention is a part of ICJ proceedings in which third-party States participate in order to inform the court of their own legal interests in a case.

Officials from Ireland and South Africa held an initial meeting about the case after the court filed provisional orders last Friday about the conflict in Gaza, which Israel must comply with.

The court said that Israel must do everything it can to “prevent the commission of all acts within the scope” of the Genocide Convention.

Israel has also been asked by the court to take “all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide”.

It must also take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians”. 

The court additionally ruled that Israel must try to limit death and damage in Gaza.

The next stage of the case will see South Africa draft a memorial – a document that will outline its substantive case against Israel – to the ICJ over the next few months, during which Ireland will decide on whether to intervene in the case.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the ICJ order last week by saying that his country had a right to defend itself in the wake of the 7 October attacks by Hamas.

He also claimed that the charge of genocide leveled against Israel “is not only false, it’s outrageous”, and that “decent people everywhere should reject it”. 

Irish officials will use the next few months to try and gauge whether South Africa has a substantive legal case against Israel under the Genocide Convention and what issues South Africa will focus on during the next stages of the case.

Once South Africa’s legal arguments are at an advanced stage, the government will consider whether those arguments align with Ireland’s interpretation of the Genocide Convention, under which the case against Israel is being brought.

The entire process is expected to take four to six months, after which Irish officials will make a decision on whether the State will intervene based on South Africa’s memorial.

Israel will draft and file its own memorial with the court after it receives South Africa’s memorial, though this is not expected to influence Ireland’s decision.

Ireland previously filed an intervention with the court in September 2022, when it joined 14 other countries in attempting to join Ukraine’s case against Russia under the Genocide Convention.

Last week, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the Government would “strongly consider” supporting the case and that it would receive “urgent” legal advice on the matter.

He told reporters yesterday that the case was “complex” and that he had been briefed by officials in his department on the latest developments.

“This is complex. It’s not at all simple. We’re talking about the International Court of Justice, the Genocide Convention, and I will discuss this with all of the opposition parties because I think that they need to be apprised of what actually is involved here,” he said.

His comments came ahead of an expected Sinn Féin motion in the Dáil this evening calling on Ireland to support South Africa’s case.