The International Court of Justice, a court linked to the UN, began hearings this Thursday (11) in the trial that accuses Israel of committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip, where the country opened an offensive to exterminate the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, in October last year, after the massacre within its territory, which killed children and the elderly.
On this first day, South Africa, responsible for opening the legal action at the ICJ, stated that the alleged genocidal acts committed by the Middle Eastern country are “incorporated into Tel Aviv's state policy”. The African country pointed to as evidence the “language of systematic dehumanization used by Israeli leaders to describe the Palestinians of Gaza”.
“Israel’s genocidal intent is rooted in the belief that the enemy is not just the military wing of Hamas, or even Hamas in general, but is embedded in Palestinian life in Gaza. Israel is the occupying power that controls Gaza. It controls entry, exit and internal movement within Gaza,” said South African lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi during the hearing.
The lawyer cited alleged statements made by Israeli representatives in which Palestinians are described as “human animals”. According to Ngcukaitobi, “Hamas and civilians are condemned equally” in the Strip by Israel, which does not see innocent civilians in the enclave.
“Genocidal acts are not marginal, but are integrated into state policy. Soldiers on the ground clearly understand the intent to destroy. Some members of Israeli society also understand it perfectly, as the government faces criticism when it allows aid into Gaza, because they accuse him of going back on his promise to starve the Palestinians”, claimed the lawyer.
Israel's response
Israel classified South Africa's position, this Thursday (11), as “a great example of hypocrisy” in accusing the country of genocide during the first hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in The Hague. “Today we witnessed one of the greatest demonstrations of hypocrisy in history, compounded by a series of false and unfounded claims,” said Lior Haiat, spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement published on the social network X.
Haiat accused South Africa of “functioning as the legal arm of the terrorist group Hamas” and of “completely distorting the reality in Gaza following the October 7 massacre.”
“It completely ignored the fact that Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, murdered, executed, butchered, raped and kidnapped Israeli citizens just because they were Israeli, in an attempt by Hamas to commit genocide,” he said.
In view of this, according to Israel, with its attitude of accusing it of genocide for its military offensive in Gaza, South Africa “seeks to allow the militia to once again commit war crimes against humanity and sexual crimes such as those committed repeatedly on October 7th.”
Furthermore, the spokesperson stated that “South African lawyers also ignore the fact that Hamas uses the civilian population of Gaza as a human shield and acts from hospitals, schools, UN shelters, mosques and churches.”
Likewise, he reported that the Islamic group holds 136 hostages – including around 25 considered dead – and that they “are without Red Cross representatives or medical assistance”. “The State of Israel will continue to protect its citizens in accordance with international law, while distinguishing between Hamas terrorists and the civilian population,” he added
The case before the Hague Court centers on Israel's alleged violation of the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted in 1948 and in force in 152 countries.
However, the hearings today and this Friday (12) will not yet address the merits of the case, and will only focus on the possibility of determining precautionary measures to “protect the rights of the Palestinian people against greater, serious and irreparable damage ” during the offensive in Gaza.
Ngcukaitobi warned that the lack of condemnation of this speech “served to normalize genocidal rhetoric of extreme danger to Palestinians within Israeli society” and promotes the rhetoric that “Palestinians in Gaza must be destroyed,” he said.
“Journalists and commentators announced that the woman is the enemy, the baby is the enemy, the pregnant woman is the enemy. That it is necessary to turn the Gaza Strip into a slaughterhouse, demolish all the houses that the soldiers find. Exterminate everyone,” he said.
South Africa accused Israeli political leaders, military commanders and people holding official positions of publicly declaring their “systematic and explicit genocidal intent.”
Furthermore, the representative of the African country stated that “the soldiers on the ground clearly understand the intention to destroy” the Strip as the objective of the military offensive, which began after the attack by the Islamic group Hamas on Israel, on October 7, which left more than 1,200 dead. Israel denies all allegations.
Despite the anticipation of responses to the accusations before the ICJ, the Israeli government will be heard in the process this Friday (12).
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