Israel denies genocide accusation
Israel on Friday rejected what it called the “grossly distorted” accusation of genocide leveled against it by South Africa, telling the United Nations’ top court the case was an attempt to “pervert the meaning” of the term.
Israel denies genocide accusation
Israel on Friday rejected what it called the “grossly distorted” accusation of genocide leveled against it by South Africa, telling the United Nations’ top court the case was an attempt to “pervert the meaning” of the term.
In the second and final day of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel argued its war in Gaza was fought in self-defense, that it was targeting Hamas rather than Palestinians, and that its leadership had not displayed genocidal intent.
South Africa on Thursday had alleged Israel’s leadership was “intent on destroying the Palestinians as a group in Gaza,” and that its aerial and ground assaults on the enclave were intended to “bring about the destruction of its Palestinian population.”
Israel said the case was “a concerted and cynical effort to pervert the meaning of the term ‘genocide’ itself.” It asked the court, which sits in The Hague, the Netherlands, to dismiss the case as groundless and refuse South Africa’s request for the court to order a halt to the war.
In a statement issued after the second day of hearings at the ICJ, a German government spokesperson said that Germany “expressly rejects” allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said Germany acknowledges diverging views in the international community on Israel’s military operation in Gaza but said that “the German government decisively and expressly rejects the accusation of genocide brought against Israel before the International Court of Justice.”
The ICJ was established in 1945 in the wake of World War II and the Holocaust. It hears cases brought by states accusing others of violating their UN treaty obligations. South Africa and Israel are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, meaning they are obliged not to commit genocide and to prevent and punish it.
In its opening remarks, Israel said it was “singularly aware” of why the genocide convention was adopted. “Seared in our collective memory is the systematic murder of 6 million Jews, as part of a premeditated and heinous program for their total annihilation,” said Tal Becker, a lawyer representing Israel.
But Israel argued the convention was adopted only to “address a malevolent crime of the most exceptional circumstances,” and was “not designed to address the brutal impact of intensive hostilities” on civilians during warfare.
“We live in a time when words are cheap,” said Becker. “But if there is a place where words should still matter, where truth should still matter, it is surely a court of law.” He said South Africa’s case was an “attempt to weaponize the term ‘genocide’ against Israel.”
