On Friday, Israel strongly contested South Africa’s accusations before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the ongoing clashes with Hamas in the Gaza Strip amounted to acts of genocide. These claims were made following the military offensive launched in response to a Hamas-instigated attack on Israeli civilians back in October. South Africa, despite not being directly involved in the conflict, is eligible to file this lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ, as both countries are United Nations members and party to the Genocide Convention. Last month, South Africa officially lodged a complaint against Israel with the court.
During initial hearings that commenced last Thursday, the ICJ focused on determining whether it should enforce provisional measures to safeguard the Palestinians in Gaza while the genocide complaint proceeds. In their opening statements, South Africa’s legal team accused Israel of multiple egregious acts, including killing tens of thousands of Palestinians, escalating mental and physical harm, failing to supply adequate humanitarian protections, and causing widespread dehydration and starvation in the region.
Contrarily, Israel’s representatives vehemently objected to South Africa’s allegations, criticizing the lawsuit for neglecting to highlight the full scope of the issue and for the improper application of relevant laws. Tal Becker, legal advisor to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, spoke out against the way the conflict was represented in the complaint during his opening remarks, targeting specifically the lack of acknowledgment of both parties involved in the conflict.
In addition to these criticisms, Becker also raised concerns over the validity of the death toll numbers cited by South Africa, which reportedly originated from Hamas sources, questioning their reliability. He argued that the essential element of genocide, which is the intention to eradicate a group of people either in part or as a whole, is not present in Israel’s military response. Becker asserted that Israel’s operations in Gaza are in defense of their people, and are executed lawfully despite facing an adversary with no regard for these laws.
Finally, Israel’s legal representatives urged the court to dismiss South Africa’s request for provisional measures and to abolish the case altogether. As of this moment, the court has yet to announce when it will decide on the request for provisional measures.
A more detailed account of the proceedings can be found on JURIST – News.