The Israeli Government assured this Friday before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that there are “a tragic war underway, but not a genocide” in Gaza, and accused South Africa of having “a clear ulterior motive” in calling for a ceasefire in the Strip because it seeks, Israel said, “to obtain a military advantage for its ally, Hamas, which it does not wish to see defeated.”
The Hebrew country responds this Friday before the Court to the accusations made by South Africa, according to which with its military operation in Rafah the Jewish State has intensified its alleged campaign of “genocide” against the Palestinian population of Gaza.
South Africa appealed to the highest UN court to order a stop to the assault on the Gazan town of Rafah, considered by Israel to be the bastion of the last battalions of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which has governed that territory since 2007.
In January, also in a case brought by South Africa, the ICJ ordered Israel to do everything possible to prevent acts of genocide and allow humanitarian aid access to Gaza. But then it did not demand a ceasefire as South Africa demanded, which understands that the situation on the ground and the operation against Rafah requires that the ICJ now go further.
Israel has previously stressed its “unwavering” commitment to international law and has said the South African accusations are “completely baseless” and “morally repugnant.”
“South Africa has a clear ulterior motive when it asks (the ICJ) to demand that Israel stay away from Rafah and withdraw all its troops from Gaza. “He does this to gain military advantage for his ally, Hamas, whom he does not want to see defeated,” Noam said.
He does this to gain military advantage for his ally, Hamas, whom he does not wish to see defeated.
“South Africa wants to see Hamas maintain control of the Palestinians in Gaza and condemn them to misery. It is Israel that wants to see a different future for Gaza,” Noam said.
However, he justified, “as is the case in all armed conflicts, Incidents may occur involving alleged violations of the rules regulating hostilities. and considered this a “reality that is not unique to Israel” because “no State is infallible.”
Furthermore, he stressed that “armed conflict is not synonymous with genocide” and considered that Pretoria mentioned during his presentation on Thursday, in which accused Israel of having genocidal intent against the Palestinians of Gaza, only “some individual incidents reported in the media” and he did so as if they were “evidence of illegal policies.”
But, Noam added, “exceptional incidents are just that, exceptional” and “they do not show a policy of illegal behavior, much less a policy of genocide” nor should they consider “facts” without “proper examination.”
“Not all media reports reflect events or incidents correctly or in their full context,” said Noam, who assured that Israel has “the necessary mechanisms” to investigate allegations of “misconduct” by its armed forces and “ensure accountability.”
“South Africa hoped, the last time it appeared before this court, that this genocidal process would be stopped to preserve Palestine and its people,” said Vusimuzi Madonsela, South African ambassador to the Netherlands. “Instead, Israel’s genocide has continued and reached a new and horrendous phase,” Madonsela added.
The campaign against Rafah is “the latest step in the destruction of Gaza and its Palestinian people,” argued Vaughan Lowe, another lawyer for the South African delegation. “It was Rafah that brought South Africa to the court. But it is all Palestinians, as a national, ethnic and racial group, who need the protection from the genocide that the court can order,” he added.
(Continue reading: ‘There is no alternative to victory’: Israeli Prime Minister refuses to talk about the ‘day after’ in Gaza)
The campaign against Rafah is the latest step in the destruction of Gaza and its Palestinian people
Netanyahu defended on Wednesday the need to carry out this operation and stated that half a million civilians have already fled Rafah, which would avoid a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
His Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, assured on Thursday that “more troops will enter” Rafah and that “(military) activity will intensify.”
The measures it asks of Israel are to “immediately” stop all military operations in Gaza, allow access to humanitarian aid and inform the court of its progress in complying with these orders.
*With EFE and AFP
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