A coalition of legal practitioners in Nelson Mandela Bay and other parts of SA has fired a legal broadside at the US and UK governments, saying their federal and superior courts should hold them accountable for alleged complicity in war crimes in Palestine.
Wikus van Rensburg Attorneys in Central, Gqeberha, wrote letters of intent to the White House and Britain’s No. 10 Downing Street, accusing them of “aiding, abetting, supporting, encouraging or providing” material assistance and means to Israel and the Israeli Defence Force.
This comes hot on the heels of SA filing a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for alleged genocide in Gaza. The Palestinian death toll as a result of Israel’s assault on Gaza has surpassed 25,000, according to the ministry of health in the territory. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said on Sunday that 178 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours, with the death toll in more than three months of Israel’s war on Gaza reaching 25,105.
Law firm owner Wikus van Rensburg, backed by 47 other local and national lawyers, said they were acting on behalf of “all the Palestinian people”. Their legal argument is based on the 1917 Balfour Declaration, a British statement supporting the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, which contributed to the eventual creation of Israel. The US also played a role in diplomatic discussions leading up to the establishment of Israel in 1948.
In the letter to President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris and secretary of state Antony Blinken, they pointed out that the country had recently supplied 14,000 tank shells and other items to Israel, using emergency authority provisions without undergoing congressional review.
“In particular, the US government has indicated it supposedly used the Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth about $106.5m (R2.04bn) for delivery to Israel early in December,” the 16-page letter says. “The US government did this fully knowing that thousands of innocent Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and are still being killed, by the Israeli government under the hand of its armed forces.
“The tank shells supplied by the US to Israel are part of a bigger sale for which congressional approval will be sought for the larger arms package worth more than $500m (R9.5bn) and comprises, among other things, 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks, which are regularly deployed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza which has killed thousands of civilians and which continues to kill civilians.”
Under international criminal law and its jurisprudence on individual criminal responsibility, support provided to perpetrators of international crimes can be investigated and prosecuted by the ICC under the principles of Universal Jurisdiction.
— Law firm owner Wikus van Rensburg, backed by 47 other lawyers
The group of lawyers also emphasised that US policy and international law mandated that weapons produced locally and sent to foreign governments such as Israel must be employed in a way that safeguards civilians.
“The US government [dared] to recently only authorise about $21m (R402m) of aid to Gaza, vs the $14.5bn (R277bn) military aid package passed by its House of Representatives in early November, in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars already authorised to Israel for military equipment, including support for its tank shells that are now striking Gaza amid the largest humanitarian crisis in modern history.”
In their letter to British PM Rishi Sunak, foreign secretary James Cleverly and attorney-general Victoria Prentis, the lawyers said that, since 2015, the UK had licensed military exports to Israel amounting to at least £474m (R11.5bn). “This includes components for combat aircraft, missiles, tanks, small arms and ammunition.
“The UK provides about 15% of the components in the F-35 stealth bomber aircraft being used in Gaza, including the rear fuselage and active interceptor system, ejector seats, aircraft tyres, refuelling probes, laser targeting systems and fan propulsion systems.
“Under international criminal law and its jurisprudence on individual criminal responsibility, support provided to perpetrators of international crimes can be investigated and prosecuted by the ICC under the principles of Universal Jurisdiction.”
The letter states further: “This includes support by foreign governments and officials, including the British government and its officials, of Israel’s actions when there is demonstrable evidence that international crimes have already been committed, and when there is clear evidence that further crimes against innocent civilians will imminently be perpetrated and or which is ongoing, as is the case now.
“The British government had the audacity to only authorise about £20m (R487m) of hollow aid to Gaza, vs the hundreds of millions it authorised to Israel for military equipment, including support for its combat aircraft that are now striking Gaza amid the largest humanitarian crisis in modern history.”
In both letters, the lawyers said: “The world’s top international human rights organisations, including US and UK-based Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have conducted and presented in-depth legal analysis over the past several years that has found that the Israeli government is committing the crimes of apartheid and persecution.”
Contacted for comment, Van Rensburg said he began to take an interest in the war when a friend and colleague shared a video depicting the tragic killing of civilians, especially children. It was then that they decided there should be accountability for the alleged complicity.
“I’m deeply concerned by the ongoing conflict in which Israel is engaged; it’s seemingly unwarranted, prompting a compelling need for us to adopt a stance on the matter,” he said. “Consequently, after writing a complaint to the ICC, and subsequently being contacted by other legal practitioners, I assembled a group of legal professionals, and we collectively resolved, based on the initial decision between me and my friend, to hold the US and UK governments accountable for their actions.”
He said the case was not about religion. “It’s about lawfulness and accountability for Israel exceeding the boundaries of self-defence, and the complicity of the US and UK in the killing of civilians, especially children.
“The letters of intent have already been dispatched and so the next step involves their presentation before the court.”
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