The Netherlands and Iceland have filed declarations of intervention in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the court said on Thursday.

 

The two countries filed their applications on Wednesday under Article 63 of the Court’s Statute, which gives states the right to intervene in proceedings involving the interpretation of a convention to which they are party.

 

The ICJ, also known as the World Court, stated that both nations are relying on their status as parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention. By intervening, the construction given by the court's future judgment will be equally binding upon them.

 

"South Africa and Israel have been invited to furnish written observations on the declarations of intervention," the court said in a press release.

 

The case, centered on alleged violations of the Genocide Convention in the Gaza Strip, has seen several countries seeking to join the proceedings as the international legal scrutiny over the conflict intensifies.