The Maldives filed the Declaration of Intervention in the case of the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday.

The Attorney General's (AG) office said the Declaration of Intervention had been submitted to the ICJ on behalf of Maldives by AG Ahmed Usham.

South Africa filed the 84-page complaint against Israel on December 29 last year.

South Africa alleges that Israel’s acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza have violated the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention).

"The Maldives focuses its intervention on the proper construction of the provisions concerning the incitement to commit genocide and the duty to punish the incitement of genocide in Articles I, III, IV and VI of the Genocide Convention, and also intervenes on the proper construction of Articles II and IX of the Genocide Convention," the Foreign Ministry stated.

The Maldives government continues to condemn Israel’s multiple, serious violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which amounts to genocide and apartheid.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu stated in his address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that the genocide is a travesty of justice and the international system.

"Israel must be held accountable for these acts of terrorism, for these violations of international law and UN resolutions," he said.

The Maldives has repeatedly called on Israel to halt its genocidal war against Palestine and calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.