Israel to Contest South Africa's Genocide Case in The Hague

Facts

• Israel will defend itself at the International Court of Justice in The Hague against allegations filed by South Africa that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war, an Israeli government spokesman said on Tuesday.¹
• The State of Israel would appear at the Court 'to dispel South Africa's absurd blood libel,' spokesman Eylon Levy said at an online briefing, adding that history would judge the South African leaders 'without mercy.' For decades, South Africa has been promoting the Palestinian cause of statehood.²
• Levy continued by outlining a string of steps the Israeli military had taken to limit harm to civilians and added that Hamas bore full moral responsibility for the war it initiated. He continued by accusing Hamas of fighting 'from inside and underneath hospitals, schools, mosques, homes and UN facilities.'³
• Last week, South Africa filed a case with the International Court of Justice against Israel for allegedly taking actions of a 'genocidal character' against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. As a signatory to the UN Genocide Convention, Israel is subject to the jurisdiction of the Court and will reportedly present its defense on Jan. 12.⁴
• Following Pretoria's application to the Court, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the move arguing that Hamas, not Israel, was committing genocide. In contrast to Palestinian extremists, the Israeli army was acting 'as morally as possible,' he claimed.⁵
• According to South African Foreign Ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela, South African lawyers are preparing for a hearing called by the UN's highest court on Jan. 11-12. In the past, Israel had ignored the legal proceedings initiated against the country before UN courts arguing that they had no jurisdiction.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²reuters.com, ³Voice of America, ⁴timesofisrael.com, ⁵BBC News and ⁶Jerusalem Post.

Narratives

• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by CAJ News Africa. South Africa's decision to file a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice is a shining testimony to the South African government's functioning moral compass. Israel's impunity in killing tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza and displacing nearly 2M people is the clearest expression yet of the double standards of the Israeli regime's Western backers who love to portray themselves as champions of human rights. Hamas may have triggered the latest episode in the long-running conflict, but Israel's brutal response is unprecedented in its scale, scope, and pace. It is now up to those nations that still hold strong and consistent values to support South Africa's genocide application and stand on the right side of history.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jewish News Syndicate. By targeting Israel but not Hamas, Pretoria is making itself complicit in Hamas's genocidal campaign against the Israeli people. It is outrageous that the South African government is exploiting the post-Holocaust UN Genocide Convention to attack Israel, which is defending itself against the most horrific attack on Jews since the horrific events of WWII. Moreover, the International Court of Justice is known as a political and anti-Israel court, and the case may once again prove to be less of a legal threat and more of a public relations stunt. The Hague's decisions were ignored in the past not only by Israel, but also by countries like the US and Russia, and Israel will not be deterred from continuing its righteous fight against terror.

Predictions