Cyprus neither anticipates nor seeks to interpret beforehand the outcome of the legal aspects of war conflicts, which are brought before the competent international judicial bodies, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Theodoros Gotsis told the CNA when asked to comment South Africa’s genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based in The Hague last Thursday.

Speaking to CNA on Monday, Gotsis said “Cyprus, following the general practice of states in similar cases, does not prejudge or seek to interpret in advance the outcome of the legal aspects of such war conflicts, which are brought before the competent international judicial bodies”.

The verdict on such cases, he noted, “lies certainly in the exclusive competence of the International Court of Justice in The Hague”.

Gotsis noted that “as a matter of principle, Cyprus evaluates each case according to its particular circumstances and chooses sparingly any participation in cases based on criteria of vital national interest”.

“Any other interpretation is inconsistent with this clear position, which is our consistent policy”, he added.

It is noted that in the landmark case of Gambia v. Myanmar in which the same provisions of the relevant international conventions were at issue as in the present case of South Africa v. Israel, Cyprus did not intervene before the ICJ.

South Africa filed the lawsuit end of December, accusing Israel of genocide in its war on Gaza and seeking a halt to the brutal military assault that has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, nearly 10,000 of them children.