ICJ: Israel Responds to Genocide Allegations

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Facts

  • As Israeli lawyers began on Friday their response to the genocide case South Africa put forward before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, legal advisor Tal Becker said that such claims are false and "grossly distorted," arguing that Israel is in a self-defense war against Hamas, not against the Palestinian people.1
  • This comes as the UN-backed ICJ heard arguments from South Africa on Thursday, as the country accused the Jewish state of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in breach of the 1948 Genocide Convention.2
  • After the 17-judge bench was empaneled, including an "ad hoc" judge from each of the two parties, the two-day preliminary hearing for an emergency order centered around South Africa's application to the court in order to determine whether the World Court has jurisdiction to rule on this case.3
  • Pretoria wants the ICJ to declare that Israel has breached the convention, and for it to issue legally binding provisional measures to cease hostilities in Gaza, but Israel claims that the court has no jurisdiction because Palestinians don't belong to an independent sovereign state.4
  • Outlining South Africa's argument to the court on Thursday, lawyer Adila Hassim stated that Israel violated article 2, parts a-d by, respectively, carrying out mass killings; inflicting serious bodily or mental harm; deliberately imposing conditions that cannot sustain life; and imposing measures intended to prevent births within a group.5
  • Shortly thereafter, lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi sought to show that Israel also demonstrated genocidal intent, pointing to statements by Israeli political and military leaders, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's description of Palestinians as "human animals" and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reference to the biblical injunction to destroy Amalek.6

Sources: 1Sky News, 2BBC News, 3Al Jazeera, 4Associated Press, 5New Matilda and 6The Times of Israel.

Narratives

  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by The Jerusalem Post. If we lived in a perfect or, at least, a fair world, the panel hearing this preposterous case would base their decision solely on legal merits, thus ruling in favor of Israel. However, given the nature of the United Nations, the odds are 50-50, as one must expect political considerations to come into play as countries such as Lebanon, China, and Russia will lobby their jurists on how to rule in this case.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. Palestinians in Gaza, as well as the West Bank and around the world, are immensely grateful to South Africa for bringing this case to the ICJ. The symbolism of this is not lost on Palestinians, who understand that South Africa has also suffered from apartheid, racial discrimination, and genocide. Hopefully, this opportunity for justice and accountability will not be missed.

Predictions