MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile joins South Africa's claim against Israel before the ICJ

“We also demand the release of the hostages” held by Hamas, Boric stressed

The Chilean Government of President Gabriel Boric Font announced Saturday that it would be joining South Africa as plaintiffs in the genocide case filed against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, The Netherlands.

“Chile will intervene in the case brought by South Africa against Israel before the ICJ, as provided for in Art. 63 of its Statute, in the framework of the UN Genocide Convention. This is a measure consistent with our position,” Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren wrote on X.

Boric, who said he was appalled by the humanitarian devastation in Gaza following the deployment of Israeli troops, pointed out in a message to Congress that “I have decided that Chile will take part and support the case filed by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, within the framework of the UN Genocide Convention,” Boric said in a message to the National Congress.

“I do not accept to choose between barbarities. We condemn, without a doubt, the Hamas terrorist attacks and we also demand the release of the hostages currently held by them,” Boric also stressed while mentioning “a catastrophic humanitarian situation” that required “a firm and permanent response from the international community.”

The South American country is home to the largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East, with a population of around 500,000, many of them descendants of Christian Arab immigrants of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Chilean First Division football team Palestino dons a jersey replicating the colors of the Palestinian flag.

South Africa has accused Israel before the ICJ in The Hague, Netherlands, of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention. Israel has denied the allegations on the grounds that the war in Gaza was in legitimate defense against Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 others taken hostage.

Chile's Jewish community accused Boric in a statement of using the conflict in Gaza for personal political gain: “This active intervention in an external conflict, using fiscal resources, is clearly perceived as an action that prioritizes his own personal interests over those of the nation, showing a clear bias towards the issue.”

At the same time, the Palestinian Authority's Foreign Ministry issued a communiqué welcoming Boric's decision, which “expresses Chile's firm commitment to justice and the international rule of law, as well as the deep solidarity and historical friendship between the two countries.”

The PA also hoped that Chile's step would serve as an encouragement for the rest of the ICJ member states to announce their “active participation” before the UN court to put an end “to the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and to combat Israel's impunity.”