“No one is spared, not even newborn babies.”

This is how Adila Hassim, speaking at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, Netherlands yesterday, described the deliberate destruction of Palestinian life taking place in Gaza. Hassim was one of six lawyers who represented South Africa in appealing to the ICJ, the United Nations’ juridical body, to order a halt to Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

South Africa contends that Israel is committing genocidal acts prohibited by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, better known as the Genocide Convention. As a signatory to the Genocide Convention, Israel has accepted the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s jurisdiction in enforcing it. And in the past, the ICJ has recognized that because states have an affirmative obligation to prevent genocide, any signatory to the Genocide Convention can bring claims against another signatory if they believe they are carrying out genocide.