New Delhi: Representatives from a group of countries led by Colombia and South Africa will meet next month to formulate legal and diplomatic measures against Israel for its “ongoing and escalating violations of international law” in the occupied Palestinian territories in a bid to bring them to a halt.

Known as the Hague Group and comprising Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa, the coalition will hold an emergency ministerial meeting in the Colombian capital of Bogota on July 15 and 16 and will invite members from outside this founding group of nations.

The meeting has been planned in light of “Israel's ongoing and escalating violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the crime of genocide,” the Hague Group said in a press statement issued on Tuesday (June 10).

It will “focus on coordinated legal and diplomatic measures” to bring the aforesaid violations to an end, the group also said, adding that the countries will “announce concrete actions to enforce international law”, “end the genocide and ensure justice and accountability”.

Formed in January this year, the nine countries had announced their intention to uphold The Hague's arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as to prevent the supply of arms, munition and military fuel to Israel in cases where there is a “clear risk” they would be used to violate international law.

During next month's meeting they will spotlight the legal obligations of states as held by the International Court of Justice (ICJ)'s July 2024 advisory opinion that they are obligated to “stop all actions ‘that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian territory’,” the press release said.

In its advisory opinion the ICJ held that UN member states must “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of  the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.

The ICJ had also ruled that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal.

South Africa, currently co-chair of the Hague Group, is known for having brought a case to the ICJ alleging that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. The case is expected to take years to conclude.

Israel has generally viewed the UN and its international courts as prejudiced and partial. Following the ICJ’s July advisory opinion, Netanyahu said that the “Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land, including in our eternal capital Jerusalem nor in Judea and Samaria, our historical homeland”.

Israel is conducting a military campaign in Gaza which per the beleaguered coastal strip's health ministry has killed 54,800 Palestinians. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in the death toll.

Some, including a UN special committee, have argued that Israel's actions could amount to genocide. Israel denies the allegation.

Tel Aviv is also accused of using starvation as a weapon of war.

Its campaign began in response to Hamas's terror attack in Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people, including over 800 Israeli citizens.

The Palestinian group, which governs Gaza and has a military wing, also took around 250 people hostage into the strip.

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