Palestinian supporters protest outside the ICJ court in The Hague. Photo: AP.
“South Africa’s legal team represents the people of South Africa” - Mr. Dangor said after the ICJ hearing on January 112. He also rejected Israel’s claim that South African officials praised Hamas after the October 7 attack: “That is something we reject with contempt.”
The ICJ trial of South Africa suing Israel on charges of genocide began yesterday, January 11.
Speaking to reporters outside the ICJ in The Hague, Palestinian Foreign Ministry official Ammar Hijazi said that Israel’s legal team “could not make any solid arguments based on facts and law.”
“What Israel provided today are many lies that have been exposed,” he added, referring to Israeli allegations that hospitals in Gaza are being used as military bases. the.
“In addition, we think that what the Israeli group today tried to provide is exactly what South Africa took them to court for – and that is, that nothing can justify genocide.”
Accused of committing genocide against Palestinians, Israel today defended at the United Nations’ highest court that its war in Gaza was a legitimate defense of its people and accused to the contrary that Hamas committed genocide.
Israeli leaders cast their air and ground offensive in Gaza as a legitimate response to the October 7 attack by Hamas, when militants stormed Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
Israeli legal counsel Tal Becker told the audience at the trial that the country was fighting a “war that it did not start and did not want.”
“In these circumstances, there can hardly be a more false and evil accusation than the accusation against Israel of genocide,” he added, noting the terrible suffering of civilians in war is not enough to justify genocide.
South African lawyers on January 11 asked the court to order an immediate stop to Israel’s military activities in Gaza, home to 2.3 million Palestinians. A decision on that request will likely take weeks and the entire case could drag on for years, and it is unclear whether Israel will comply with any court orders.
Arguing in court today, Israel focused on the brutality of the October 7 attack, showing the audience chilling video and audio of what happened that day, including the allegations Hamas militants treated brutally during the attack.
Israeli lawyer Becker said South Africa’s request was an attempt to prevent Israel from defending against such an attack.
But even when acting in self-defense, international law requires nations to follow the rules of war, and courts must decide whether Israel does so.
Israel often boycotts international courts and United Nations investigations, saying they are unfair and biased. But this time, Israeli leaders took the rare step of sending in a high-level legal team – a sign of how seriously they take the case and how concerned they may be that any order Any court suspension would be a major blow to the country’s international standing. .
Mr. Becker also counter-accused that Hamas itself committed genocide.
According to the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-run territory, more than 23,000 people in Gaza have died in Israel’s military campaign. Nearly 85% of Gazans have been forced to flee their homes, a quarter of the area’s residents face starvation and much of northern Gaza has been reduced to rubble.
South Africa says this amounts to genocide and is part of Israel’s decades of oppression of Palestinians.
“The scale of destruction in Gaza, the targeting of families and civilians, the war against children, all make it clear that the genocidal intent was well understood and was put into practice. . The clear purpose is to destroy Palestinian lives,” said South African lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi.
If the court orders a halt to fighting and Israel fails to comply, it could face UN sanctions, although those sanctions could be blocked by a US veto, staunch ally of Israel.
The White House declined to comment on how it might respond if the court finds Israel guilty of genocide. However, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called these accusations “baseless.”
This particular case goes to the heart of one of the world’s most intractable conflicts. Protesters rallied outside the courthouse today to show support for both sides. Pro-Israel protesters set up a table near the courthouse courtyard for a Jewish Sabbath meal with empty chairs in memory of the hostages still held by Hamas. Nearby, more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters waved flags and chanted protests.
The incident also hit the national identities of both Israel and South Africa.
Israel was established as a Jewish state after the massacre of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II. Meanwhile, South Africa’s ruling party has long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank to the country’s history under white-minority apartheid, which restricted most Black people return to their “homeland”.
The World Court, which resolves disputes between nations, has never judged a country responsible for genocide.
