Israel presented on Friday its response to the lawsuit filed against it by South Africa in the second session of the International Court of Justice regarding accusations of committing genocide in Gaza.
Tal Baker, Israel’s chief lawyer at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, stated that South Africa’s lawsuit presented a distorted and erroneous picture of the events in Gaza, adding, “What Israel seeks through its operations in Gaza is not the destruction of a people but the protection of its own people, who face attacks on several fronts.” He further stated, “If there have been acts of genocide, they were committed against Israel on October 7th,” and that “halting military operations would prevent us from defending ourselves.”
Israel’s representative also mentioned, “Hamas used schools and hospitals for military purposes, and we are fighting Hamas, not the Palestinian people.” The Israeli legal team urged the International Court of Justice to “reject South Africa’s request for emergency measures against Israel,” considering that “the existing facts do not warrant the application of the precautionary measures sought by South Africa.”
On his part, lawyer Malcolm Shaw stated, “Contrary to what the South African team claimed, Israel does not intend to annihilate the Palestinian people, but was defending itself following the events of October 7th.” The court heard South Africa’s team, led by the country’s Minister of Justice, who presented their documents in the lawsuit against Israel yesterday.
During yesterday’s Thursday session, the South African legal team pointed out that “Palestinians are subjected to relentless bombing wherever they go and are killed in every place they seek refuge,” and that “Israel’s actions indicate an intent to commit genocide, rooted in its belief that the enemy is not Hamas, but the fabric of Palestinian life in Gaza.”
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs attacked South Africa, considering it to be playing the role of “the judicial arm in service of Hamas,” while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused South Africa of “hypocrisy,” stating that “we are facing an inverted world, where Israel is accused of committing genocide while it is fighting genocide.”
Last month, South Africa filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice, stating that Israel is violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, signed in 1948 following the Holocaust during World War II. South Africa is seeking the International Court to impose “provisional measures,” which are urgent judicial orders applied while the core of the case is being considered, a process that could take years.
South Africa has the right to pursue Israel before the International Court of Justice as both countries have signed the Genocide Convention. South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said before the judges on Thursday that Israel “crossed the lines” and violated the convention, affirming, “No armed attack on a state’s territory, no matter how dangerous, can provide any justification for violations of the convention.”
Adela Hashem, a lawyer from the South African delegation, stated, “Genocides are not pre-announced, but before this court, evidence collected over the past 13 weeks undoubtedly shows a pattern of behavior and intentions that reasonably justify the allegation of committing acts of genocide.”
