2024-01-11 23:06:00
South Africa accused Israel of “genocide”
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South Africa today accused Israel of “genocide” before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, in a hearing in which it assessed that the dimension of the Jewish country’s offensive on the Gaza Strip is not justified even by the massacre perpetrated by the Islamist movement Hamas on its territory on October 7, while Israeli aviation continued bombing the enclave, at the end of the regional tour of the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
“No armed attack on the territory of a State, no matter how serious it may be (…) justifies the violation of the Convention” for the Prevention of Genocidesaid the South African Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamolain his argument.
“Israel’s response to the October 7 attack crossed this line and gives rise to violations of the convention (…) that is why South Africa is bringing this case,” he added, according to the AFP news agency.
“In the Gaza Strip since 2004, Israel exercises control over land crossings and civil infrastructure. Entry and exit from Gaza is strictly prohibited, with Israel being the only entry point” Ronald Lamola
Likewise, he stressed that “The violence and destruction in Palestine did not begin on October 7” but Palestinians “have experienced violence for the past 76 years.”
“In the Gaza Strip since 2004, Israel has exercised control over land crossings and civil infrastructure. Entry and exit from Gaza is strictly prohibited, with Israel being the only entry point,” he stated.
Ronald Lamola, Minister of Justice of South Africa, with Vusimuzi Madonsela, South African ambassador to the Netherlands / Photo: AFP.
For its part, Trust Ngcukaitobia member of the South African legal team, analyzed that “Israel has a genocidal intention against the Palestinians in Gaza” and this is what “Israeli leaders and Army generals have let us know (…) what has been repeated by Gaza soldiers.”
In this sense, he recalled the statements of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahuciting the biblical story of Amalek or the words formulated on October 9 by the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallantwhen he said that Israel “fights against human animals and acts accordingly,” the Europa Press news agency reported.
“The statements were made by people at the head of the State. The genocidal intention of these words is not ambiguous for the Israeli soldiers deployed on the ground” Tembeka Ngcukaitobi
Likewise, he mentioned the words of the president, Isaac Herzogwho on October 12 pointed out that “the entire (Palestinian) nation is responsible”, words of a “dehumanizing” nature that “does not differentiate” between civilians and Hamas members.
“The statements were made by people at the head of the State. If the statements were not intentional, they would not have been made. The genocidal intention of these words is not ambiguous for the Israeli soldiers deployed on the ground,” he said.
LIVE: International Court of Justice (ICJ) holds public hearings in the case South Africa v. Israel – Oral argument of South Africa https://t.co/duIpJU9Ivk
— Presidency | South Africa ???????? (@PresidencyZA) January 11, 2024
In turn, the South African lawyer before the ICJ Adila Hassimhighlighted that Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip They have put the population “on the brink of famine” and assured that “experts predict that more people could die in Gaza from hunger and disease” than due to military actions.
“Genocides are never declared in advance, but this court has the last 13 weeks of evidence that irrefutably shows a pattern of behavior and intention that justifies a credible accusation of genocidal acts“Hassim added.
In The Hague, the police had to separate the pro-Israel protesters from the pro-Palestinians / Photo: AFP.
Israel’s position
The war between Israel and Hamas broke out after the October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil, in which 1,200 people were killed and some 240 were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, including twenty with Argentine nationality.
Israel’s response, which promised to “annihilate” Hamas, has so far left more than 23,000 Palestinian dead, a large majority of them women and children.and a serious humanitarian crisis, with shortages of essential supplies and around 1.9 million people (out of a total of 2.2 million living in the enclave) forced to leave their homes.
Pretoria turned to the ICJ to urge Israel to “immediately suspend military operations” in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s attacks have so far left more than 23,000 Palestinian dead, the vast majority of them women and children.
After learning of the allegation, Israel, which this Friday will have the opportunity to defend itself, accused South Africa of acting as “the legal arm of the terrorist organization Hamas”.
Pretoria “has completely distorted the reality of Gaza after the massacre of October 7,” said Israel’s foreign minister, Lior Hayatit’s a statement.
Also accused South African lawyers of “hypocrisy” and assured that they made “a series of false and unfounded statements” in court.
Today we were witness to one of the greatest shows of hypocrisy in history, compounded by a series of false and baseless claims.
South Africa, which is functioning as the legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organization, utterly distorted the reality in Gaza following the October 7… pic.twitter.com/82EfD9WeuF
— Lior Haiat ???????? (@LiorHaiat) January 11, 2024
“South Africa, which is functioning as the legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organization, has seriously distorted the reality in Gaza following the October 7 massacre and completely ignored the fact that Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, murdered, executed, massacred, They raped and kidnapped Israeli citizens simply for being Israelis, in an attempt to commit genocide,” he said.
Previously, President Herzog had called South Africa’s accusation “atrocious and absurd”.
The South African accusation
South Africa argues that Israel is failing to fulfill its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocidea 1948 treaty created precisely after the Holocaust, in which the Nazis and their collaborators exterminated 6 million European Jews.
South Africa recognizes in its accusation the “particular weight of responsibility” of accusing Israel of genocide and “unequivocally” condemns Hamas attacks that sparked the war in Gaza.
But at the same time, it states that Israel’s bombings and ground operations are “specifically intended (…) to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza as part of the broader national, racial and ethnic group of Palestinians.”
Countries supporting South Africa’s lawsuit
Several countries, including Türkiye, Malaysia, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil and Iran They supported South Africa’s demand, while the United States said it saw no signs of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made his support official in a meeting with the Palestinian ambassador in Brasilia, Ibrahim Alzeben.
For its part, the Colombian Government of Gustavo Petro said in a statement that it “welcomes the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel (…) for violation of provisions of the 1948 Convention against Genocide.”
PRESS RELEASE: the schedule for the public hearings in the case #SouthAfrica v. #Israelwhich will open tomorrow before the #ICJhas been revised pic.twitter.com/Br7c6V9JJG
— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) January 10, 2024
The United States, which supports its ally Israel, considers Pretoria’s accusations to be “baseless.” “Israel has the right to defend itself,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
“Israel operates in an exceptionally difficult environment in Gaza, an urban battlefield in which Hamas (…) intentionally hides behind civilians,” he noted.
Court of The Hague / Photo: Archive.
As this is an emergency procedure, The ICJ could rule in a matter of weeks and, although its rulings are final and cannot be appealed, countries do not always follow its verdicts, as in the case of Russia, which the ICJ ordered to end its invasion of Ukraine.
On December 29, the ICJ, the main judicial body of the UN, announced that South Africa filed a “genocide” lawsuit against Israel due to the situation in the Gaza Strip.
In The Hague, the police had to separate the protesters pro-Israel of the pro-Palestinians, who carried banners that read: “End Israeli apartheid”.
Meanwhile, the bombings continue
Meanwhile, in the Palestinian enclave, Israeli aviation multiplied its bombings against the Khan Yunis sector, the main city in southern Gaza and the epicenter of the fighting in recent weeks, according to several witnesses.
Hamas said that Israeli attacks last night left 62 dead throughout the Strip.
International organizations are warning of a health disaster in Gaza, where aid distribution faces “almost insurmountable” obstacles, said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
For its part, the Israeli Army denied this Thursday that it had attacked an ambulance the day before in the Gaza Strip, an incident in which six people died, including two patients transported by the vehicle, and four rescuers from the Palestinian Red Crescent. , which attributed responsibility to Israel.
The Israeli army claimed that two journalists from Al Jazeera and other media, Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria, killed on Sunday in a bombing in Gaza were “terrorist agents” affiliated with Hamas and its allied organization, Islamic Jihad.
In a brief statement, Hamas described the accusations against the journalists as “hollow” and “false.”
At least 79 journalists and media professionals have died since the start of the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
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