The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt announced this Sunday that it will formally intervene to support the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel in December before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for alleged crimes of genocide during the war in the Gaza Strip.
Besides, Egypt accused Israel of “pushing Palestinians to flee and displace their lands,” something that has contributed to “an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that led to the creation of uninhabitable conditions in the Gaza Strip,” according to the note.
Egyptian Foreign Affairs described these Israeli actions as “a flagrant violation” of international humanitarian law, as well as the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 on the protection of civilians in war.
The Israeli Army ordered the evacuation of neighborhoods east of Rafah six days ago, forcing the forced displacement of 100,000 residents. This Saturday, the evacuation order was extended to the Rafah and Shabura camps and the Adari and Geneina neighborhoods, in the center of Rafah.
Last week’s seizure of the Rafah border crossing, which connects Gaza with Egypt, and Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian town of the same name have greatly deteriorated relations between Tel Aviv and Cairo, which since the start of the war has warned against the displacement of Palestinians from the Strip.
Egypt and Israel signed peace in 1979, a pact that could be broken if the Jewish State decides to carry out a total invasion of Rafah, where some 1.4 million Palestinians live crowded together, most of them displaced by the war.
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(More news: UN Secretary General calls for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ in the Gaza Strip and release of Israeli hostages)
(Read on: South Africa asks ICJ to issue ‘an urgent order’ to stop Israeli offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza)
“We call on Arab and Islamic countries, and all countries around the world, to take similar steps to support the Palestinian cause,” Hamas asked in an official statement, in which it applauded the decision.
Hamas also welcomed Egyptian demands that Israel implement the provisional measures issued by the ICJ to guarantee the entry of humanitarian aid.
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