Two European nations have formally stepped into a major international legal dispute involving allegations of genocide in Gaza.
The Netherlands and Iceland have submitted declarations to the International Court of Justice indicating their intention to participate in the case brought by South Africa against Israel. The filings were made under Article 63 of the court’s statute, which allows countries that are parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention to present their interpretation of the treaty during ongoing proceedings.
Iceland’s submission runs 24 pages and addresses issues surrounding the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. The document highlights concerns related to the large-scale destruction of housing and the territory’s restricted geographic conditions.
The Netherlands filed a 10-page declaration addressing several humanitarian concerns. Among the points raised are claims involving “starvation and the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid,” which it says must be “calculated to bring about [the] eventual physical destruction] of a group, in order to be considered as genocidal.
Several other nations have already intervened in the case, including Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Cuba, Ireland, Libya, the Maldives, Mexico, Paraguay, Spain, Turkiye, and the State of Palestine.
These interventions do not determine the facts of the case itself. Instead, they focus on how the Genocide Convention should be interpreted under international law, particularly in modern armed conflicts.
The International Court of Justice has already issued provisional measures instructing Israel to prevent acts that could fall under the definition of genocide. However, a final decision on whether genocide occurred is expected to take years, with observers suggesting the ruling may not arrive until around 2028.