Ireland, a longtime supporter for Palestinian rights, said Wednesday it will intervene in South Africa's lawsuit before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over claims of genocide committed by Israel.
South Africa's lawsuit was filed with the U.N. court in December. It accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians with its war in the Gaza Strip, conducted in retaliation for Iranian-backed Hamas' terrorist attack Oct. 7 in which more than 1,200 Israeli civilians were massacred and about 250 others were taken hostage.
Israel waged its ground operation in Gaza with the goal of eradicating Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2006, and rescuing the hostages. It has denied accusations that it has committed genocide, stating it has gone out of its way to ensure the safety of civilians.
Ireland Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said in a news release officials were working on a "declaration of intervention" in the case that, if approved by the Irish government, would be filed with the court in The Hague. The intervention could take months to materialize.
Ireland's Foreign Ministry said in the news release it will file a declaration to the ICJ once South Africa submits its "memorial," or a written statement of its arguments.
"It is for the Court to determine whether genocide is being committed," Martin said. "But I want to be clear in reiterating what I have said many times in the last few months: What we saw [on Oct. 7] in Israel, and what we are seeing in Gaza now, represents the blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale.
"The taking of hostages. The purposeful withholding of humanitarian assistance to civilians. The targeting of civilians and of civilian infrastructure. The indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas. The use of civilian objects for military purposes. The collective punishment of an entire population."
Martin echoed a resolution passed Monday by the U.N. Security Council calling for a cease-fire and the immediate return of all hostages. The U.S. declined against using its automatic veto on the resolution and abstained from the vote.
"The situation could not be more stark: Half the population of Gaza faces imminent famine and 100% of the population faces acute food insecurity," Martin said. "As the U.N. Secretary General said as he inspected long lines of blocked relief trucks waiting to enter Gaza during his visit to Rafah ... 'It is time to truly flood Gaza with life-saving aid. The choice is clear: surge or starvation.' I echo his words today."
Ireland's Foreign Ministry said interventions by state parties under Article 63 of the 1948 Genocide Convention do not take a specific side in the dispute but that it's a chance for Ireland to offer its interpretation of one or more of the provisions of the Convention at issue. Ireland took a similar approach when intervening along with 30 other countries for Ukraine in its case against Russia in June 2022.
The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the U.N. Its role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by U.N. members and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized U.N. agencies. The U.N. allows countries to intervene in proceedings if they are parties to the Genocide Convention.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.