Israel says South Africa acting as Hamas’s legal arm
The Israel Foreign Ministry has accused South Africa of acting as the “legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organisation,” as two days of preliminary hearings kicked off at the U.N.’s top court in The Hague.
International Court of Justice
“Today, we were witness to one of the greatest shows of hypocrisy in history, compounded by a series of false and baseless claims,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said in a statement shared on X.
South Africa “utterly distorted the reality in Gaza following the Oct. 7 massacre and completely ignored the fact that Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, murdered, executed, massacred, raped and abducted Israeli citizens… in an attempt to carry out genocide,” added Haiat.
Pretoria’s case at The Hague “seeks to allow Hamas to return to commit the war crimes, crimes against humanity and sexual crimes they committed repeatedly on Oct. 7, as its leaders have stated,” he charged.
The Israeli rebuke came after lawyers for South Africa demanded that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order an immediate end to the Israel Defence Forces’ operation against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
“Israel has transgressed article two of the [Genocide] Convention, committing acts that fall within the definition of genocide. The actions show a systematic pattern of conduct from which genocide can be inferred,” attorney Adila Hassim claimed on Thursday morning.
“Nothing will stop the suffering except an order from this court,” Hassim charged in her opening arguments.
“The violence and the destruction in Palestine and Israel did not begin on Oct. 7, 2023. The Palestinians have experienced systematic oppression and violence for the last 76 years,” South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola told the court, referring to the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948.
As the hearing got underway, thousands of Dutch joined a protest in support of Israel. Participants in the march, which was organised by local Jewish and Christian groups, waved flags and carried pictures of Israelis taken hostage or murdered on Oct. 7.
The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its seat is at the Peace Palace in The Hague in the Netherlands. It deals with disputes between states, whereas the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutes individuals.
Israel’s legal team will be given three hours on Friday morning to refute Pretoria’s accusations.
The proceedings will likely take years, but an interim order could be issued within a matter of weeks. Although the ICJ has no ability to enforce its judgments, a ruling against Israel could add international pressure to wind down combat operations in Gaza.
In a move praised by Hamas, South Africa has charged Israel with violating its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention by intending “to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.”
The 1948 Genocide Convention, to which both Israel and South Africa are signatories, was drafted in the wake of the Holocaust to prevent the destruction, or intent to destroy, “in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
In a statement released just hours before Thursday’s hearing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that “the IDF is doing its utmost to minimise civilian casualties, while Hamas is doing its utmost to maximise them by using Palestinian civilians as human shields.”
“Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law,” he added in the video message.
The prime minister noted that the Israel Defence Forces drops leaflets and makes phone calls urging civilians to leave war zones, “providing safe passage corridors, while Hamas prevents Palestinians from leaving at gunpoint and often with gunfire.”
“Our goal is to rid Gaza of Hamas terrorists and free our hostages,” he said. “Once this is achieved, Gaza can be demilitarised and de-radicalized, thereby creating a possibility for a better future for Israel and Palestinians alike.”
At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. The number of men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners held captive in Gaza by Hamas is now believed to be 136. Other people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.
The Zionist Federation of Australia slammed the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and called on Australia to publicly condemn it.
ZFA President Jeremy Leibler said that as a respected middle power, Australia has strongly pushed for the international rule of law and has an important role to play with key partners, including those in our region who will be looking to Australia for leadership.
He told J-Wire: “The allegation that Israel is committing genocide is baseless and a blatant attempt to besmirch Israel’s reputation. While this, in and of itself, should be enough to see the Australian Government condemn South Africa, there is a more important issue at stake.
There is no genocide or attempted genocide occurring in Gaza. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or ignorant.
The act of genocide is one of the most serious crimes against humanity. Using this allegation when no genocide is occurring, solely in order to achieve a diplomatic victory against Israel, has the effect of weakening the Genocide Convention.”
Beyond calling out the irresponsible nature of the South African allegations, we believe that the Australian Government should officially intervene in the International Court of Justice process, to call on it to dismiss this case. In doing so, Australia would act with like-minded countries.”
Dr Colin Rubenstein is the executive director of The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council. He told J-Wire: “South Africa’s contention in its International Court of Justice (ICJ) claim – that Israel’s actions to combat terror in the wake of the October 7 wave of unprovoked mass murder, rape, torture and kidnapping directed largely against civilians inside Israeli territory amount to the crime of genocide – is clearly absurd and can only be explained as a cynical and politicised act of lawfare. No serious analysis of the conflict between Israel and Hamas could suggest any genocidal intention against the Palestinian people on the part of Israel, as the Genocide Convention unambiguously requires.
Efforts to cite aggressive but ambiguous statements by some Israeli politicians and public figures who have no significant role in overseeing Israel’s military plans or policies as proof of genocidal intent amount to an intentional misrepresentation of Israeli policy as part of efforts to deny Israel any right of self-defence – thus aiding and abetting Hamas’ bloody terrorism. Ironically, it is Hamas that has unambiguously displayed genocidal intent through both its actions and words – including repeated calls in official Hamas documents and statements to annihilate not only Israel and its population, but to direct murderous designs against Jews wherever they are, as well.
Burdening the ICJ with such blatantly political and baseless allegations drastically undermines the integrity of the Genocide Convention – which has never been more important than it is today, given the arguably genuine genocides being threatened or perpetrated around the world. Indeed, it is highly damaging to the whole framework of international law, which is supposed to help make the world a better place and upon which the security of Australia, and many other countries, in great part depends.
TPS/J-Wire
