The ruling party Vooruit will not urge the government to join the genocide case that South Africa has filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. According to MP Joris Vandenbroucke, that is no longer possible. His party will propose within the federal government to consider a different procedure at the International Court of Justice, a procedure that focuses on the humanitarian situation and which could also lead to a ceasefire. That’s what Vandenbroucke said in ‘The Seventh Day’.
Earlier this week there was a lot of fuss about the case that South Africa initiated against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. South Africa accuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Within the government, the Greens, Socialists and CD&V urged to join the demand for a genocide investigation. The liberals oppose that démarche.
During a debate in ‘De Zevende Dag’, Vandenbroucke made it clear that our country can no longer join the South African procedure. But his party puts forward a different path. “What Vooruit is going to propose within the government is to make an intervention based on Article 63. That is something different from what South Africa does. As a country, we are making a statement in which we focus on the humanitarian situation. The intervention is aimed at persuading the International Court of Justice to issue a ruling in which, for example, a permanent ceasefire can be requested.”
“On the bench with dictatorial regimes”
Green co-chair Nadia Naji does not seem averse to this. She believes that the “best legal approach” must be examined and that it is especially important that the court can “impose interim measures for a ceasefire”.
Egbert Lachaert thinks it is a good thing that the government partners seem to be moving towards Open Vld’s position. “I share all the outrage about the suffering, but joining South Africa was a bad solution. This procedure is not supported by any country in the European Union and as a country you are putting yourself on the same page with a number of Arab countries and a number of African dictatorial regimes,” said Lachaert. He is therefore pleased that this approach appears to have been abandoned.
Also read: Why our moral compass is tilted towards the war in Gaza: “We should take to the streets with two flags” (+)
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