Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, during a news conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, April 10, 2023. Photo: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg

The South African government has engaged barristers from prominent chambers within and outside the country to advance a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where it is accusing Israel of committing genocide in the ongoing war in Gaza.

South Africa had earlier instituted proceedings against Israel at the United Nations' highest court and the matter is expected to be heard in the Hague next week.

In its 84-page application, the African nation alleges that Israel has breached provisions of the 1984 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crime of Genocide in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

"The acts and omissions by Israel are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group, that being the part of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip."

The alleged genocidal acts cited include "killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction".

It further states that are all the acts are attributable to Israel, which failed to prevent or punish "the direct and public incitement to genocide by senior Israeli officials and others" since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Among other requests, South Africa urged the international court to recognise the crimes committed and protect Palestinians against further harm.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had countered South Africa's application before the ICJ, insisting that the Israeli army is "acting as morally as possible".

At the public hearing scheduled for Thursday and Friday next week, both sides will be allotted two hours each to deliver their oral arguments, according to ICJ's arrangement.

On South Africa's legal team are barristers including John Dugard SC and Max du Plessis SC of Doughty Street Chambers, Adila Hassim SC from Thulamela Chambers and Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC, according to a person with knowledge of the case. Also, notable U.K. barristers, Essex Court's Vaughan Lowe KC and Matrix Chambers' Blinne Ni Ghralaigh KC will serve as external counsel.

Ghralaigh had previously joined hundreds of U.K. solicitors and barristers who called on the British government to exert its influence to secure a ceasefire in Gaza via an open letter.

Details of Israel's legal representation remain sketchy but another top Essex Court's Barrister, Malcolm Shaw KC, is reported to be defending the nation at the ICJ next week. Shaw, a renowned international law expert, is yet to respond to requests for comment.

Likewise, some of the Barristers representing South Africa and their Chambers have yet to return Law.com International's request for comments while others asked that the request be directed to the country's international relations department.

Beyond the casualties recorded since the October 2023 attack, the Israel-Gaza crisis has caused a division in the legal industry with law firms and their partners taking different positions.

The chambers involved had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.