Hague court hears genocide case against Israel

South Africa has alleged that the retaliatory response to the Hamas attacks on October 7 violated the 1948 Genocide Convention

The UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is hearing an application from South Africa, which has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians, the BBC reported on Thursday.

The application calls on the court to order Israel to cease military operations in Gaza.

South Africa’s petition to the court described Israel’s actions in Gaza following the October 7 attack as “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.”

The accusation has been vehemently rejected by Israel.

“Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a video statement ahead of the hearing.

On Tuesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog also dismissed the genocide lawsuit brought against his country. “There is nothing more atrocious and preposterous” than a case filed with the ICJ by South Africa against the State of Israel, he said.

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South Africa brought the case to the UN court on December 29. According to local Hamas-run authorities, Israel’s airstrikes and ground invasion have resulted in the deaths of more than 22,000 people in Gaza. 

The casualties from the Israeli airstrikes and ground assaults in Gaza have been mostly women and children, it has been claimed. Netanyahu promised to “eliminate” Hamas following the Palestinian militant group’s cross-border attack.

During an emergency virtual BRICS+ meeting in November, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa criticized the Hamas incursion and charged the militant group with violating international law. He has called for the ICC to investigate Israel for its actions in the conflict with Hamas.

Diplomatic relations between the African nation and Israel have been strained due to the Gaza conflict. The Palestinian struggle for sovereignty has been supported by Pretoria for many years, and it has been compared to South Africa’s struggle against apartheid in the 20th century.