Israel has accused South Africa of “grossly distorting” the facts of the war in Gaza by bringing a genocide case against it to the UN’s top court.
South Africa has asked judges from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague to impose measures to halt the conflict immediately, on the basis that Israel has breached the UN Genocide Convention. Lawyers for South Africa had laid out a case alleging a “chilling” intent ring about "the destruction of the population" of Gaza.
Addressing the 17 ICJ judges in The Hague, Netherlands, Tal Becker, the legal adviser to Israel’s foreign ministry, described South Africa’s case as “a sweeping counter-factual description” of events since 7 October when Hamas launched an attack inside Israel during which 1,200 people were killed and another 240 taken hostage. In response, Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas and launched an aerial bombardment, supported by ground operations and a blockade.
“Israel is in a war of defence against Hamas, not against the Palestinian people, to ensure that they do not succeed,” Mr Becker said. “The key component of genocide, the intent to destroy a people in whole or in part, is totally lacking. If there were acts of genocide, they have been perpetrated against Israel. Hamas seeks genocide against Israel.”
More than 23,000 people in Gaza have been killed since then, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. South Africa cited that figure in their case. Around 85 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes at least once.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at The Hague— (REUTERS)
Mr Becker said that “the appalling suffering of civilians, both Israeli and Palestinian, is first and foremost the result of Hamas' strategy.” He accused South Africa of having “put before the court a profoundly distorted factual and legal picture,” adding that “the entirety of its case hinges on a deliberately curated, decontextualised and manipulative description of the reality of current hostilities”. Israel says that it takes measures to protect civilians, such as issuing evacuation orders ahead of strike
As Mr Becker spoke, Pro-Palestinian demonstrators with flags marched through The Hague and watched proceedings on a giant screen in front of the Peace Palace. Israeli supporters were holding a separate gathering of family members of hostages taken by Hamas. They set up a table near the court grounds for a Sabbath meal with empty seats, commemorating the hostages still being held. "We want to symbolize the empty chairs, because we are missing them," said Nathan Bouscher from Center for Information and Documentation on Israel.
The Israeli case also focused on the brutality of the Hamas attack, presenting chilling video and audio to a hushed courtroom.
The table marking people who are still being held hostage by Hamas, outside the courtroom at The Hague— (ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
"They tortured children in front of parents and parents in front of children, burned people, including infants alive, and systematically raped and mutilated scores of women, men and children," Mr Becker said.
South Africa’s request for an immediate halt to the Gaza fighting, he said, amounts to an attempt to prevent Israel from defending itself against that assault.
The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".
"The scale of destruction in Gaza, the targeting of family homes and civilians, the war being a war on children, all make clear that genocidal intent is both understood and has been put into practice. The articulated intent is the destruction of Palestinian life," a lawyer for South Africa, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, had said on Thursday – adding that several leading politicians had made dehumanising comments about people in Gaza.
Israeli soldiers take up positions during a ground operation in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip— (AP)
British lawyer Malcolm Shaw, part of Israel’s defence team, rejected that accusation of genocidal intent on Friday and called the remarks Mr Ngcukaitobi referenced "random quotes not in conformity with government policy."
Israel often boycotts international tribunals and UN investigations, saying they are unfair and biased. The hearings are the first time the nation has chosen to defend itself in such a setting.. Lior Haiat, Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman, told the Israeli public broadcaster on Friday that the country chose to appear at the ICJ “because we are not guilty”.
A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Mr Sunak believed South Africa’s case was “completely unjustified and wrong”. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken described the case as “meritless”.
Post-apartheid South Africa has long advocated the Palestinian cause, a relationship forged when the African National Congress' struggle against white-minority rule was supported by Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organisation.
Israel will be back on the ICJ’s docket next month when hearings open into a UN request for an advisory opinion on the legality of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
