SOUTH AFRICA URGES TOP UN COURT TO HALT WAR IN GAZA
▶ International Court of Justice told Israeli onslaught ‘cannot credibly be seen as manhunt for Hamas’
South Africa has pleaded with judges in The Hague to stop the war in Gaza, accusing Israel of a “genocidal campaign” against Palestinians that goes far beyond a “manhunt” against Hamas militants.
Judges heard South Africa’s appeal for an emergency order telling Israel to cease fire, as the war in Gaza entered the halls of the International Court of Justice, the highest legal body of the UN.
South Africa presented its case in a three-hour session on Thursday before Israel takes the floor in reply on Friday.
With a mixture of legal arguments and emotive pleas, South Africa accused Israel of “committing genocide” with indiscriminate attacks.
These assaults make life in Gaza impossible and “cannot credibly be argued to be a manhunt for members of Hamas”, the court heard.
The court was told to step in urgently to prevent the humanitarian cost from escalating, in what South Africa – alluding to its history – called an extension of 75 years of apartheid.
Israel rejects the allegations and says attacks will continue to ensure its safety.
Leading South Africa’s delegation, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said Israel’s invasion of the Palestinian enclave went beyond a legitimate response to Hamas attacks on Israeli settlements on October 7.
More than 23,400 people have been killed in Israeli strikes following the Hamas assaults, in which more than 1,000 were killed and 240 abducted.
“No armed attacks on a state’s territory – no matter how serious, even an attack involving atrocity crimes – can provide a justification for or defence” for acts of genocide, Mr Lamola said. “Israel’s response to the October 7, 2023 attack has crossed this line.”
South Africa told the court that Israel is committing genocide by killing and wounding Palestinians and denying food, shelter and health care so that Gaza “cannot sustain life”. It argued that the offensive
has laid waste to Gaza “beyond any acceptable legal, let alone humane, justification”.
Palestinian Assistant Foreign Minister Ammar Hijazi urged other countries to support South Africa’s case, which he said included “damning evidence”.
“This is a pivotal moment for the international system,” he said.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the court had heard “false and baseless claims” and described the South African team as “Hamas’s representatives in the court”.
It said South Africa was “ignoring the fact that Hamas uses the civilian population in Gaza as human shields and operates from within hospitals, schools, UN shelters, mosques and churches”.
Mr Lamola rejected Israel’s broadside, saying South Africa was “not presenting any case on behalf of Hamas”. He said any finding against Israel could pave the way for military personnel being prosecuted individually. South African lawyer Adila Hassim said Israel’s campaign amounted to “nothing short of destruction of Palestinian life”.
Referring to Israel’s command for Palestinians to move south in the first phase of its ground invasion, she said: “The order itself was genocidal.”
Seeking to convince the court that Israel is intent on genocide, South African lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi quoted statements by Israeli political leaders in which they allegedly “declared their genocidal intent”.
Among the words cited were a remark by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant that Israel was “fighting human animals” and references by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a violent passage of scripture.
Israel’s actions are “rooted in the belief that in fact the enemy is not just the military wing of Hamas or indeed Hamas generally, but is embedded in the fabric of Palestinian life in Gaza”, said Mr Ngcukaitobi.