Jan. 12 (UPI) — Lawyers for Israel presented their rebuttal of South Africa’s claims it is guilty of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice on Friday by turning the case on its head, arguing the case lays out a “grossly distorted story” and that Israel is the real genocide victim.
All Israel’s actions in Gaza were in self-defense against Hamas and “other terrorist organizations,” and that any acts of genocide were against Israel, not the Palestinians, Foreign Ministry legal adviser Tal Becker told day two of opening arguments in the United Nation’s highest court.
He said South Africa had “regrettably put before the court a profoundly distorted factual and legal picture, [and] the entirety of its case hinges on a deliberately curated, decontextualized and manipulative description of the reality of current hostilities”.
Becker added that contrary to Pretoria’s claims, Israel was doing its utmost to mitigate the harm caused to civilians while Hamas was bent on inflicting as much suffering as it could on Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Israel was committed to complying with international law but did so in a situation where Hamas was doing the complete opposite, said Becker, who also accused South Africa of completely glossing over Hamas’ Oct. 7 murderous rampage in southern Israel.
“It is impossible to understand the armed conflict in Gaza without appreciating the nature of the threat that Israel is facing and the brutality and lawlessness of the armed force confronting it,” Becker said, adding that his team would be screening footage of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack as part of its evidence.
The “indication of provisional measures” hearings that began Thursday are an effort by South Africa to secure an emergency ruling from the court ordering Israel to halt its military campaign immediately “to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention, which continues to be violated with impunity.”
But Becker dismissed the calls saying Israel’s right to self-defense meant they “cannot stand,” arguing the ICJ should instead sanction South Africa for its close relationship with Hamas — a claim Pretoria strongly denies.
The “appalling suffering” of Israeli and Palestinian civilians alike was down to Hamas, Becker said, and demands for Israel to unilaterally stand down its forces would only leave the country exposed to being attacked again.
The South African legal team used day one of the hearings to try to make the case that the true purpose of Israel’s war was not self-defense but to deliberately “destroy” Gaza in a policy that had approval from “the highest level of state.”
Outside the court in The Hague on Friday, rival supporters gathered for a second day of protests with groups supporting the South African side flying Palestinian flags and seeking to draw parallels between Gaza and apartheid while Israel supporters stuck photos to empty chairs of some of the 130 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.
The 17-strong panel of judges’ eventual judgment in the case, which could take years, will effectively be an opinion only as any ruling by the court cannot be legally enforced.
