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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Israel, which is accused of committing genocide against Palestinians, has defended its genocide against Palestinians. war in gaza It was heard in the United Nations’ highest court on Friday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the allegations as hypocrisy that “screams to the heavens.”
Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has vehemently denied the accusations brought by South Africa in one of the largest lawsuits ever brought before an international tribunal, which has garnered international attention and resulted in a court hearing from both countries. protesters are gathering.
south african lawyer asked the court On Thursday, it ordered an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in the besieged coastal region, home to 2.3 million Palestinians. A ruling on the request will likely take weeks, but the full litigation is likely to take years.
“In the age of social media and identity politics, we live in a time when words are cheap.” Israeli legal adviser Tal Becker spoke to a packed auditorium at the ornate Peace Palace in The Hague to vilify and demonize He said the temptation to reach for the most outrageous words has become irresistible for many people.
He added that South Africa “unfortunately presented to the court a legal situation that grossly distorts the facts.” The entire story hinges on a deliberately cherry-picked, decontextualized, and manipulative depiction of the reality of current hostilities. ”
Israel often boycotts international tribunals and UN investigations, calling them unfair and biased. But as a sign of how seriously Israeli leaders are taking the incident, they took the unusual step of dispatching an army. High-level legal team.
At the heart of the case is Israel’s actions in Gaza, where Israel launched a massive air and ground offensive after Hamas militants invaded Israel on October 7. attack the community Approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed. The attackers kidnapped around 250 people, more than half of whom are still in custody.
More than 23,000 people were killed during military operations in Gaza. According to the Ministry of Health in territory run by Hamas. Nearly 85% of Gaza residents have been forced from their homes by car. A quarter of the territory’s inhabitants face hungerand much of northern Gaza has shrunk to rubble.
South Africa claims this amounts to genocide and is part of Israel’s decades-long oppression of Palestinians.
” Scale of destruction in Gaza, the targeting of family homes and civilians, the fact that this war is a war against children, all make it clear that genocidal intentions are understood and carried out. The clear intention is the destruction of Palestinian lives,” lawyer Thembeka Nukukaitobi said in her opening statement Thursday.
The “characteristic” of the incident, he said, was “the repetition of genocidal speech in all areas of the Israeli state.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu dismissed these arguments.
“This is a world turned upside down. The state of Israel is being accused of genocide while fighting genocide,” the prime minister said in a video statement Thursday. “South African hypocrisy cries to the heavens.”
Rather, Israel claims it is acting in self-defense. International agreements still bind countries to the rules of war, no matter how serious the attack, and the court must determine whether Israel’s operations actually remain within those limits. It won’t happen.
The court’s findings are considered binding, but it is unclear whether Israel will comply with the order to cease fighting. If it does not, it could face UN sanctions, which could be blocked by the veto of the United States, Israel’s staunch ally.
The White House declined to comment on how it would respond if a court found that Israel had committed genocide. But National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the allegations were “baseless.”
Unusual incidents get to the heart of the matter One of the world’s most intractable conflicts Protesters continued to gather outside the court for a second day. Pro-Israel demonstrators set up empty tables near the court grounds for a Shabbat meal in memory of hostages still held by Hamas. Nearby, more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators waved flags and shouted in protest.
The incident strikes at the heart of Israel’s national identity, which is rooted in its founding as a Jewish state after the Nazis massacred six million Jews during World War II.
Israel says it is fighting a vicious enemy who has carried out the worst attack on its territory since its founding in 1948. Leaders insist they are doing everything in their power to abide by international law and avoid harm to civilians. Israel blames Hamas for the high death toll, saying the militants operate in residential areas.
This incident also South Africa’s own identity: Its ruling party, the African National Congress, refers to Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank as a country under the white-minority-ruled apartheid regime, which restricted most black people to their “homeland” until it ended in 1994. I have been comparing it to history for many years.
South Africa sought to expand the case beyond the Israel-Hamas war.
“Violence and destruction in Palestine and Israel did not begin on October 7, 2023. Palestinians have experienced systematic oppression and violence for the past 76 years,” said South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola. Ta.
“Mothers, fathers, children, siblings, grandparents, aunts and cousins are often killed together. This killing is nothing but the destruction of Palestinian life. It is inflicted on purpose. They cannot be saved, not even newborn babies,” said Hashim, a South African lawyer.
According to Gaza health officials, about two-thirds of the deaths in Gaza were women and children. The death toll does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The World Court, which adjudicates disputes between nations, has never found a country responsible for genocide. The closest was in 2007, when Serbia was forced to “prevent genocide” after the July 1995 massacre of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Bosnia and Herzegovina by Bosnian Serb forces. “There was a breach of duty,” the court ruled. Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica.
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Cassart reported from Brussels. Associated Press journalists Gerald Imlay in Cape Town, South Africa, and Alexander Furtula in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.
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