Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter said that her country cannot remain silent regarding the enormous humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.

De Sutter confirmed that she would submit a proposal to her government to follow the example of South Africa in filing a lawsuit against the occupying state before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

De Sutter, a representative of the Flemish Green Party in the ruling coalition, said in a post on the “X” platform: “Belgium cannot stand idly by and watch the enormous human suffering in Gaza, and we must act against the threat of genocide.”

She added: "I want Belgium to move before the International Court of Justice, similar to what South Africa did. I will propose this within the Belgian government."

Hearings are scheduled to be held at the International Court of Justice in the “genocide” case filed by South Africa against “Israel” on the 11th and 12th of this month.

The South African Ministry of Justice previously announced that Minister Ronald Lamola headed the country’s delegation to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, during the hearing in the lawsuit filed by the African country against the Israeli occupation on charges of committing genocide crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

The South African delegation will be led by Lamola in the first hearing of the case, the ministry said in a statement.

In a statement, Lamola said that his country is determined to end “the genocide in Gaza through this lawsuit,” noting that South Africa “derives strength from world leaders who stand on the right side of history.”

On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit against the occupying state before the International Court of Justice regarding the occupation’s violations of its obligations under the Genocide Convention in the Gaza Strip.

The lawsuit pointed out that the actions of the occupying state “are considered to be of a genocidal nature, because they are committed with the specific intent required,” to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza as part of the broader Palestinian nationality and racial and ethnic group.

The lawsuit indicates that the behavior of the occupying state, “through state agencies, agents of the state and other persons and entities acting on its instructions or under its direction, control or influence,” constitutes a violation of its obligations towards the Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention.