Ireland has joined South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed on Tuesday, January 7.

In a press statement, the ICJ announced that Ireland filed a declaration of intervention in the case against Israel, joining Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico, Libya, Bolivia, Turkey, the Maldives, Chile, Spain, and the State of Palestine in doing so.

The case was first filed by South Africa in December 2023, accusing Israel of committing genocide during its ongoing military offensive in Gaza. South Africa accused Israel of “killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”

Ireland’s intervention is part of these broader legal proceedings and is based on the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted by the United Nations in 1948. Echoing South Africa’s concerns, Ireland alleges that Israel is in violation of Articles I, II, III, IV, V and VI of the Convention and that its actions have had a deadly impact on the Palestinian ethnic group.

Ireland has declared filed a declaration of intervention in South Africa’s case against apartheid Israel for genocide at the ICJ. #GazaGenocide https://t.co/MwV1xDnIFZ

— IPSC (@ipsc48) January 7, 2025

With its intervention, Ireland aims to promote a broader interpretation of the Convention that prioritises civilian protection. In the legal filing, the Irish government noted that, while the definition of genocide requires an “intent to destroy, in whole or in part” the target population, that intent might be inferred “in any case where a reasonable person would have foreseen that” genocide is “the natural and probable consequence of the acts of the perpetrator”.

“Ireland respectfully submits that the perpetrator does not need to have, as his or her purpose, the commission of the crime of genocide when committing any one or more of the material elements of the crime,” the declaration continued.

“The crime may also be committed where a perpetrator – regardless of his or her purpose – knows (or should know) that the natural and probable consequence of these acts is either to destroy or contribute to the destruction of the protected group… and proceeds regardless.”

The declaration comes after Tánaiste Micheál Martin secured Cabinet approval for Ireland to intervene in two separate ICJ cases, that of South Africa against Israel and The Gambia versus Myanmar.

Ireland has consistently spoken out in solidarity with Palestine and condemned Israel for its actions in the Gaza Strip since and before the Hamas attack that took place in October 2023. Since Israel launched its military offensive in response to the attack, over 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip. Roughly 90% of the population has been forced to flee their homes to avoid being killed in airstrikes which have targeted residential buildings, shelters, and hospitals.