South Africa tells ICJ that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – In an incident that shakes the very foundations of Israel’s national identity, South Africa formally accuses the country of committing genocide against Palestinians and asked the United Nations Supreme Court on Thursday to immediately suspend Israeli military operations. He begged to be ordered to do so. Operation in Gaza.

Israel, which was founded after the Holocaust, vehemently denies the allegations. In a sign of how seriously they take the case, Israeli leaders took the unusual step of intervening in court to protect their international reputation. Israel often boycotts international tribunals and UN investigations, calling them unfair and biased.

In their opening statement to the International Court of Justice, South African lawyers said the recent war in Gaza is part of Israel’s decades-long oppression of Palestinians.

South African lawyer Adira Hashim said the packed courtroom “has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that indisputably shows a pattern of behavior and associated intent” that amounted to “a plausible allegation of an act of genocide”. He spoke to the judge and the audience at the venue. Peace Palace in The Hague.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the incident and vowed to continue fighting the militant group Hamas. attacked an Israeli community On October 7, approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

“This is a world turned upside down. The state of Israel is fighting genocide, and yet it is being accused of genocide,” he said in a video statement. “South African hypocrisy cries to the heavens.”

The case is one of the most important ever heard by an international tribunal and goes to the heart of one of the world’s most intractable disputes.

South Africa is seeking a preliminary order to force Israel to halt military operations in Gaza that have killed more than 23,000 people. According to the Gaza Ministry of Healthrun by Hamas.

“Nothing but an order from this court can stop the suffering,” Hashim said.

A decision on South Africa’s request for so-called “interim measures” will likely take several weeks. The full litigation is likely to last several years.

Immediately after the deadly attack by Hamas, Israel launched a major air and ground offensive into Gaza. Three months later, the attack has forced nearly 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people to flee their homes. With only a small amount of food, water, medicine, and other supplies coming in from the Israeli siege, A quarter of the territory’s inhabitants face hunger.And much of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, has shrunk. To the moonscape.

The court’s findings are considered binding, but it is unclear whether Israel will comply with the order to cease fighting. Failure to do so could face U.N. sanctions, which could be blocked by a U.S. veto.

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.”

“That’s not a word that should be thrown around lightly, and we certainly don’t believe that it applies here,” Kirby said.

Israel says it is fighting a vicious enemy who has carried out the worst attack on its territory since its founding in 1948. Israeli leaders insist they are doing everything in their power to abide by international law and avoid harm to civilians. The country blames Hamas for the high death toll, saying it operates in residential areas.

In a post on X after the hearing, Lior Hyat, a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, called the South African presentation “one of the biggest displays of hypocrisy” and described the defense team as “Hamas’ representatives in court.” called. He said South African lawyers were distorting the reality in Gaza through a series of “baseless and false claims”. He did not elaborate.

The reaction came after South Africa claimed that Israel had committed a premeditated genocide.

“The scale of the destruction in Gaza, the targeting of families and civilians, and the fact that this is a war against children all make it clear that genocidal intentions are understood and carried out. “The revealed intention is the destruction of Palestinian life,” said lawyer Thembeka Nukukaitobi.

He said the “characteristic” of the incident was “the repetition of genocidal speech in all areas of the Israeli state.”

The October 7 attackers also abducted about 250 people, nearly half of whom have been released. Ahead of the proceedings, hundreds of pro-Israel demonstrators marched near the courthouse holding banners that read “Let them go home.” Hostages still held by Hamas.

One Israeli protester, Michael Nevi, 42, whose younger brother was kidnapped by Hamas. “People talk about what Israel is doing, but Hamas commits crimes against humanity every day,” he said.

In another demonstration nearby, pro-Palestinian demonstrators waved flags and called for an end to “Israeli apartheid” and the adoption of a ceasefire.

At times, chants from protesters on the streets surrounding the court’s well-maintained grounds could be heard inside the courtroom.

The case targets the heart of Israel’s identity and the country’s creation as a Jewish state after the Nazi Holocaust, which killed six million Jews.

It is 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.

The two-day hearing continued until Friday, and Israel sent the following statement: strong legal team He plans to address the court in his defense.

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.

Health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza say about two-thirds of the deaths in Gaza are women and children. The death toll does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

“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.

The World Court, which adjudicates disputes between nations, has never found a country responsible for genocide. The closest thing to it was the July 1995 massacre by Bosnian Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina in which more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed. The decision was made in 2007. Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica.

The nearby International Criminal Court indicts individuals on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

The case against Israel centers on the Genocide Convention, created in 1948 after World War II. Israel and South Africa were also signatories.

Israel will be on the docket of the International Court of Justice again next month when a hearing on the UN request is held. advisory opinion On the legality of Israeli policy in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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Cassart reported from Brussels. Associated Press journalist Gerald Imlay in Cape Town, South Africa. Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel; Alexander Furtura from The Hague. and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.