In view of the Israeli offensive in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, South Africa has submitted an urgent request with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The ICJ is called upon to persuade Israel to take further steps to prevent genocide of the Palestinians, including a demand that Israel withdraw from Rafah immediately. The previous measures “are not capable of ‘fully address[ing]’ the changed circumstances and new facts on which [South Africa’s] request is founded,” the UN court quoted South Africa’s petition as saying on Friday. The escalation of the situation is creati…