Israel war undermining top UN court, S.Africa says

South Africa has hauled Israel before the International Court of Justice(ICJ) to allege genocide in the war triggered by the October 7 Hamas attack,infuriating Israel and drawing US criticism.
Naledi Pandor, South Africa's foreign minister, said Tuesday that Israelhad defied a January ruling by the ICJ that it should take action to preventacts of genocide as it fights Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"The provisional measures have been entirely ignored by Israel," Pandorsaid at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace during a visit to UScapital Washington.
"We're seeing mass starvation now and famine before our very eyes," shesaid. "I think we, as humanity, need to look at ourselves in horror and dismayand to be really worried that we have set an example."
Pandor added that Israel's actions may mean other nations believe that"there's license -- I can do what I want and I will not be stopped."
She said that South Africa's post-apartheid democracy -- in going throughinternational institutions -- was "merely practicing what is preached to usevery day" by the West.
"The ICJ has not been respected. And the day an African disrespects (it) Ihope we don't go to that leader and say 'Listen, you're out of bounds --because you're an African, we expect you to obey,'" she said.
South Africa has again petitioned the court in The Hague to order measuresfor Israel to stop "widespread starvation" triggered by its Gaza offensive.
Israel denounced the South African plea as "outrageous" and "morallyrepugnant," pointing to its initiatives, including humanitarian pauses infighting.
A UN-backed food security assessment determined that Gaza is facingimminent famine, with around 1.1 million people -- about half the population --experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, reports BSS.