Case against Israel

ACCUSING Israel of breaching its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention by indiscriminately killing civilians in Gaza over the past three months, South Africa has approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Practically every country claiming to represent the Global South has backed South Africa’s plea seeking orders from the ICJ to make Israel stop its military campaign and comply with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. India has been a bystander in this case.

New Delhi has adopted a deft strategy of keeping its options open by remaining largely silent on the unabated Israeli bombardment of Gaza. However, last month, India had voted against Israel in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on the Israel-Hamas conflict, weeks after it had abstained from voting in the UNGA on a resolution that had called for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza.

At a time when the US and Canada have ignored their strategic closeness to India and unfairly targeted it in the Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and Hardeep Singh Nijjar cases, respectively, India seems to have abandoned its policy of making its voice heard on what has clearly been a disproportionate military response by Israel. The ICJ has an Indian on its Bench, Justice Dalveer Bhandari, even as the International Criminal Court — birthed by the ‘victors’ of the Cold War — does not have India among its member countries. Three other Indians have been on the ICJ Bench in the past. A 2019 ICJ ruling, which saved alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav from the gallows in Pakistan, strengthened New Delhi’s faith in this international court. India does have a good relationship with Israel, but looking at the larger picture, that should not inhibit it from continuing to be the voice of reason and supporting South Africa’s petition.