Israel tells World Court South Africa case makes a mockery of genocide
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[May 17, 2024]
THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Israel defended the military
necessity of its Gaza offensive on Friday at the International Court of
Justice and asked judges to throw out a request by South Africa to order
it to halt operations in Rafah and withdraw from the Palestinian
territory.
Israeli Justice Ministry official Gilad Noam called South Africa's case,
which accuses Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, "completely
divorced from facts and circumstances".
"(The case) makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide," Noam
said. He called it "an obscene exploitation of the most sacred
convention," referring to the international treaty banning genocide,
agreed after the Holocaust of European Jews in World War Two.
The convention requires all countries to act to prevent genocide, and
the ICJ, also known as the World Court, which hears disputes between
states, has concluded that this gives South Africa a right to make the
case.
A woman who yelled "liars!" during Israel's presentation was removed by
security guards, a rare protest in the "Great Hall of Justice" courtroom
in The Hague.
"There is a tragic war going on, but there is no genocide" in Gaza, Noam
said.
In past rulings, the court has rejected Israel's demands to dismiss the
case and ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against the
Palestinians, while stopping short of ordering it to halt the assault.
Ahead of Israel's presentation, several dozen pro-Israeli protesters
gathered outside, displaying photographs of hostages taken by Hamas
fighters on Oct. 7 and demanding their release.
The South African legal team, which set out its case for fresh emergency
measures the previous day, framed the Israeli military operation as part
of a genocidal plan aimed at bringing about the destruction of the
Palestinian people.
South Africa's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela,
requested the court to order Israel to "immediately, totally and
unconditionally, withdraw the Israeli army from the entirety of the Gaza
Strip".
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People demonstrate in support of Israel outside the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) during a hearing where South Africa requests
new emergency measures over Israel's attacks on Rafah, as part of an
ongoing case South Africa filed at the ICJ in December last year
accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention during its
offensive against Palestinians in Gaza, in The Hague Netherlands May
17, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman
South Africa brought its latest request for emergency action in
response to an Israeli military assault on Rafah at the southern
edge of Gaza, refuge for half the territory's 2.3 million people who
fled Israel's offensive further north.
Israel's Noam said that Israel's military operations were not aimed
at civilians, but at Hamas terrorists using Rafah as a stronghold,
who have tunnel systems which could be used to smuggle hostages and
militants out of Gaza.
Examples of alleged violations by Israel raised by South Africa were
"not evidence a policy of illegal behavior, let alone a policy of
genocide", he said. Ordering Israel to withdraw its troops would
sentence remaining hostages in Gaza to death, Noam said.
More than 35,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s
seven-month-old assault on the Gaza Strip, health officials in the
enclave said on Thursday. The war began when Hamas militants
attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253
others.
This week's hearings focus only on issuing emergency measures and it
will likely take years before the court can rule on the underlying
genocide charge. A decision on the request for emergency measures is
expected next week.
(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Anthony DeutschEditing by
Peter Graff)
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