For the first time, Israel speaks out on the genocide claim before the International Court of Justice and insists on its right to self-defense. There is only one person to blame for deaths in the Gaza war.
Israel has firmly rejected allegations of genocide in the Gaza war at the International Court of Justice and called for the lawsuit to be dismissed. The allegations made by South Africa are baseless, said the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s legal advisor, Tal Becker, in The Hague. “Israel is at war with Hamas, but not with the Palestinian people.”
Accompanied by demonstrations by hundreds of supporters of Israel and also Palestinians, the hearings in the proceedings before this highest court of the United Nations ended. South Africa had filed suit and accused Israel of violating the Genocide Convention.
Court order before February 6th?
The judges will first discuss an urgent application by South Africa to order an end to the military actions. Israel rejected this demand. This would deprive the country of its right to self-defense.
The court wants to decide as quickly as possible, as court president Joan Donoghue announced. A decision is expected before February 6, when the bench is reconstituted.
Israel: They only want to protect their own people
Israel justified the attacks as self-defense after the attack by Hamas and other extremists on October 7 last year. Becker described the massacres in which around 1,200 people were killed and around 250 were kidnapped from Israel, around half of whom have so far been released. “Israel does not want to destroy a people, but to protect a people, its own,” said the legal adviser.
The legal representatives blamed Hamas for the casualties and suffering of the civilian population. “Hamas has systematically and unlawfully embedded its military infrastructure in schools, mosques, hospitals and other critical locations. This is a planned, abhorrent method of warfare,” said Becker.
Israel is committed to the Genocide Convention
It is the first time that Israel has faced genocide charges before the UN’s highest court. The lawsuit hits the country because the Jewish state was founded under the impact of the Holocaust, the murder of around six million Jews by the German National Socialists.
Both South Africa and Israel have signed the Genocide Convention, committing not only not to commit genocide but also to prevent it. According to South Africa, Israel’s military force is aimed at destroying the lives of Palestinians.
Genocide is difficult to prove. To do this, it must be proven that a state has the intention to do so. South Africa cited quotes from Israeli ministers advocating the obliteration of the Gaza Strip as evidence. Israel’s legal representatives rejected this, saying it was not covered by the government. On the contrary: Israel is proving that it wants to protect civilians with warnings of attacks and humanitarian aid.
Decisions of the UN court are binding. It has no means of enforcing this. But a decision could damage Israel’s reputation and further increase international pressure. The main trial on the genocide charge can drag on for years.
Federal government sides with Israel in genocide proceedings
The Federal Government has once again clearly sided with Israel in the genocide proceedings relating to the Gaza War. “We know that different countries assess Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip differently. However, the federal government firmly and expressly rejects the accusation of genocide that has now been made against Israel at the International Court of Justice,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin. “This accusation has no basis whatsoever.”
Hebestreit said that the federal government also intends to take a corresponding position in court if there is a main hearing. “The federal government intends to intervene as a third party in the main hearing,” he explained.
The government spokesman justified this with German history and Germany’s special responsibility for Israel. In view of the Holocaust committed by the Nazis, the Federal Government is particularly committed to the Convention against Genocide. “This convention is a central instrument of international law to implement the “never again”. We resolutely oppose any political instrumentalization,” emphasized the government spokesman.
Netanyahu thanks Scholz for rejecting allegations of genocide
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for Germany’s decisive rejection of South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel. All Israelis are deeply moved that the Chancellor and Germany have “placed themselves on the side of the truth,” said Netanyahu in a telephone conversation with Scholz, as the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
