On Friday, January 12, Israel’s legal team at the International Court of Justice in The Hague attacked the fundamental claims of genocide alleged by South Africa.
Israel’s six representatives asserted that the ICJ lacks jurisdiction with regard to South Africa’s complaints since they relate to the laws of armed conflict and not genocide. That “random” inflammatory comments by politicians did not reflect official government policy, and that the widespread harm to Palestinian civilians that has occurred during the war so far was in fact a result of Hamas’s massive use of the civilian infrastructure of the Gaza Strip for it’s own military purposes (and not genocidal acts).
The extent to which the State of Israel goes to warn civilians to evacuate from operational areas, and the provision of humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians was also highlighted, alongside the lack of coalescence between Israel’s actions and the definition of genocide. The key component of this is the intention to completely destroy a people in whole or in part, which is absent from Israel’s current and past operations. Instead, Israel seeks to create a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike, by ensuring Gaza can never again be used as a base for planning terror and civilian abuse.
Foreign Ministry legal adviser Dr Tal Becker set out Israel’s arguments:
ICJ_Dr_Tal_Becker_opening_statement