South Africa has accused Israel of “systematically committing acts of genocide” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Before the United Nations’ highest court in The Hague, South Africa’s legal representatives described examples of military violence and statements made by Israeli politicians and military officials over the past three months. This was done with the “intent of genocide,” they explained. According to their account, Israel seeks to destroy Palestinian life.
Israel again verbally attacked South Africa over the genocide trial. The country acts as the “legal arm of the terrorist organization Hamas,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat after the first hearing on Platform .October has repeatedly committed “to commit again”. The spokesman called the South African lawyers in The Hague “the representatives of Hamas.”
Representatives of Israel at the hearing in The Hague, including Gilad Noam, Deputy Attorney General for International Affairs (right)Image: REMKO DE WAAL/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
Netanyahu denies accusation
Israeli representatives will address the ICJ on Friday. On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejected all allegations and said: “Israel is fighting against Hamas terrorists, not against the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full accordance with international law.” The USA, Great Britain and the federal government also see no basis for the lawsuit.
German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said he could not understand South Africa’s accusation of genocide against Israel. “You can criticize the Israeli army for acting too harshly in the Gaza Strip. But that is not genocide,” emphasized the Economics Minister during a visit to Jerusalem. Those who would or would commit genocide if they could is Hamas. They have in their agenda the eradication of the State of Israel.”
Habeck: Israel’s actions in Gaza are not genocide
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Pretoria wants legal protection for Palestinians
South Africa invokes the UN Genocide Convention, which Israel is also a signatory to. The convention defines genocide as an act “committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group as such.” Israel denies having violated this passage. South Africa is also demanding legal protection for the Palestinians in an urgent procedure. So the judges should order an end to military actions.
The International Court of Justice, which is supposed to resolve conflicts between states, will initially only deal with the urgent application and will make a decision in the next few weeks. Proceedings on the main issue, the accusation of genocide, can take years. A court decision is binding – even if the UN judges themselves have no power to enforce it. A negative decision could harm Israel and could further increase international pressure.
Politically and symbolically charged
It is the first time that Israel has faced charges of genocide before an international court. The proceedings are politically and symbolically highly charged for Israel because the 1948 “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” which South Africa refers to, was created in the wake of the Shoah, the murder of millions of Jews in World War II. The Polish Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin (1900-1959), who also coined the term “genocide”, played a key role in drafting the text.
The Israel-Hamas war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations on October 7th in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli information, more than 1,100 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Israel then declared war on Hamas and has been massively attacking the Gaza Strip ever since. Since the start of the war, more than 23,400 people are said to have been killed and almost 59,000 injured, according to the health authority, which is controlled by Hamas. Your information cannot currently be independently verified. Hamas is a militant Islamist Palestinian organization – the European Union, the USA, Germany and other countries classify it as a terrorist organization.
South Africa accuses Israel of apartheid policies
South Africa condemned the attacks by Hamas terrorists. “But no armed attack is a justification for violating the Genocide Convention,” said Justice Minister Ronald Lamola. He spoke of a “policy of apartheid against Palestinians for about 76 years.” Israel has also repeatedly rejected the accusation of apartheid in recent years.
South Africa’s legal representative, Adila Hassim, listed acts of violence by the army, such as bombings and blockades of humanitarian aid. She spoke of “acts of genocide” and a “systematic pattern that indicates genocidal intent.”
Pro-Israel demonstrators in The HagueImage: Robin Utrecht/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
There were protests in The Hague and South Africa over the trial. In The Hague, police kept rival demonstrators apart. Hundreds of pro-Israel demonstrators marched through the streets of the Dutch city, while pro-Palestinian protesters held placards calling for an end to “Israel’s apartheid.” Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also took to the streets in Cape Town.
kle/sti/wa (dpa, kna, afp, rtr)