The White House stated on Wednesday that the lawsuit filed by South Africa with the International Court of Justice, in which Israel is accused of committing “genocide” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, “has no basis” and “leads to counterproductive results.”
John Kirby, spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, said, “This lawsuit has no basis, and it leads to counterproductive results, not based on any facts.”
Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, responded to a question on this matter during his daily press conference, stating, “We do not believe that this is a productive step at this time.”
Miller rejected the allegations made by South Africa against the State of Israel, which the United States considers its closest ally in the world and its largest military supporter.
The U.S. State Department spokesperson said that the United States “has not observed any actions that constitute genocide” in the war being waged by Israel against the Hamas movement.
The International Court of Justice, the highest court in the United Nations, is scheduled to hold public hearings at the Peace Palace in The Hague on January 11th and 12th as part of “the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel.”
Israel has carried out an intensive bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, followed by a ground offensive, in response to an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7th, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse based on Israeli figures.
The ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza has resulted in the deaths of over 22,300 people, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas.
The International Court of Justice was established after World War II and is the highest judicial body affiliated with the United Nations, settling disputes between states. While its decisions are legally binding, it does not have extensive enforcement authority.
