Israel rejects accusation of genocide and tells UN court it is the victim – not Hamas

ISRAEL has rejected a genocide accusation brought to the International Court of Justice by South Africa, saying that it was the victim of attempted genocide by Hamas.

Malcolm Shaw, a British lawyer on the Israeli defence team, told the court that the accusation brought by South Africa over Israel’s war in Gaza “verges on the outrageous”. Arguing that Israeli actions in Gaza show that “the opposite” to be true, Mr Shaw said that the Hamas terror attacks on Oct 7 that triggered the war were “a clear case” of attempted genocide.

On Thursday, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, the South African advocate, claimed that “the intent to destroy Gaza has been nurtured at the highest level of state” and accused Benjamin Netanyahu,

the Israeli prime minister, of being among “the genocidal inciters”.

Arguing that Israel had taken “unprecedented” efforts to warn civilians of impending bombing, Mr Shaw said Tel Aviv’s attempts to avoid civilian casualties “demonstrate the precise opposite of any possible genocidal intent”.

Tal Becker, the Israeli foreign ministry’s legal adviser, told the court that

South Africa’s interpretation of events was “grossly distorted”. “If there were acts of genocide, they have been perpetrated against Israel,” he said. “Hamas seeks genocide against Israel.”

Galit Raguan, another member of the Israeli defence team, stressed the difficulties Israel faces in confronting an enemy that is attacking it from inside population centres. Presenting photographic evidence of Hamas’ use of hospitals and homes as military operations centres, Mr Raguan said that “harm caused as a result of Hamas actions is not evidence of genocide”.

In closing statement Dr Gilad Noam, Israel’s deputy attorney general, argued that “entertaining the applicant’s request” would water down efforts to punish genocide, which would play into the hands of terrorist groups.

He said “If every resort to force in self-defence against an enemy hiding behind civilians can be portrayed as a genocide an inevitable tension will be created between the genocide convention and states defending themselves.”

The court is expected to rule on possible emergency measures this month, but a ruling on the allegations of genocide could take years.