Netherlands And Iceland Join ICJ Genocide Case Against Israel

[Adelola Malik]

Two European countries, Netherlands and Iceland, have officially joined the genocide case filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The case was originally brought by South Africa, which accused Israel of violating international law in relation to the ongoing conflict involving Palestinians.

Both countries submitted their official declarations of intervention on March 11, 2026. They relied on Article 63 of the court's statute, which allows countries to join a case if the interpretation of an international treaty they are part of is involved. In this situation, the treaty in question is the 1948 Genocide Convention, which focuses on preventing and punishing acts of genocide.

According to the ICJ, any country that has signed the Genocide Convention can intervene in a case if the court's interpretation of the treaty could affect them in the future. By joining the case, the Netherlands and Iceland have accepted that whatever final interpretation the court gives to the Genocide Convention will also apply to them.

The court has now asked both South Africa and Israel to submit written responses about the new interventions. These responses will help the judges decide how the participation of the two European countries will influence the legal process moving forward.

The case began on December 29, 2023, when South Africa filed a complaint accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Since then, the ICJ has issued several provisional rulings, including an important order on January 26, 2024, with additional updates made in March and May of the same year.

The International Court of Justice, located in The Hague in the Netherlands, is the main judicial body of the United Nations. The court has 15 judges who are elected for nine-year terms. Their role is to settle legal disputes between countries and interpret international law in major global cases like this one.

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