Spain asks UN court for permission to join South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide

Spain on Thursday asked the United Nations' International Court of Justice for approval to join South Africa in its case accusing Israel of perpetrating a genocide in Gaza.

Spain, which formally recognized the state of Palestine last month, became the first European country to ask to join South Africa's case after it was filed last year.

"Spain is going to stay on the right side of history," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote in a translated statement on X, formerly Twitter, in a post about his country's decision to join the case.

Sanchez made the decision after dozens of people were killed in an airstrike in a Gaza school that the Israel Defense Forces said was being used by Hamas.

Mexico, Columbia, Nicaragua, Libya and the Palestinians are also waiting for the court in The Hague, Netherlands, to give them permission to join the case, according to The Associated Press.

The case is separate from that in the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is attempting to obtain an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders.

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