The Hague, Netherlands – Israel pushed back at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday against the South African complaint over genocide allegedly taking place in the Gaza Strip, on a second, historic hearing day in the Hague, by asking the court to throw out the complaint.
Foreign affairs legal adviser Tal Becker opened the three-hour hearing Friday morning, arguing that if there was anyone committing genocidal attacks in the region, it was and is Hamas.
Becker said that on Oct. 7, the world saw ‘’massacre, mutilation, rape and abduction [as well as] torture of children in front of their parents, [and] parents tortured in front of their children.’’
The assailants, reminded Becker, ‘’proudly filmed their barbarism.’’ Becker spoke of Johny Simantov, who hid in the shelter together with his wife Tamar and their three children, Omer, Arbel, and Shahar. ‘’They are here, they are burning us, we are suffocating,’’ Becker quoted the messages sent by Simantov.
Becker argued that the applicants attempt ‘’to deny Israel its obligation to its citizens, its hostages, to the thousands of Israelis displaced from their home,’’ and that South Africa seeks that ‘’Israel should be denied the ability to defend its citizens.’’
Becker reminded the court that Hamas has never hidden its genocidal agenda vis-à-vis Israel. It is no secret, added Becker ‘’that South Africa enjoys close relations with Hamas,’’ saying that by its complaint, Pretoria wants to enable Hamas to ‘’continue its unabated attacks even after Oct. 7.’’ He also noted that a delegation by Hamas arrived to South Africa a few weeks after Oct. 7 ‘’for a solidarity visit’’ as described by Pretoria.
It is not the Israeli operation in Gaza that is unprecedented, claimed Becker, ‘’what is unparalleled and unprecedented is the degree of Hamas entrenchment into the civilian population,’’ in Gaza, he said.
Leading the Israeli defense team in the Hague, Prof. Malcolm Shaw rejected South Africa’s claim on Thursday as if statements by Israeli officials reflect an intent for genocide. Shaw quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that “Israel has no intention to permanently occupy Gaza” and that “Israel is fighting Hamas, not the Palestinian population.”
“On the contrary,” stated Shaw, “these [statements] are indicative of the consistent and relentless commitment by Israeli authorities to mitigate civilian harm.”
Shaw also rejected the South African claim that there is a dispute between Israel and South Africa, which is why the ICJ indeed has jurisdiction over the case. South Africa said it had sent numerous messages to Israel on Gaza, requesting to discuss the situation, but Israel never reacted. Shaw showed that Israel did respond to these diplomatic notes, and even proposed more than once meetings between Israeli and South African officials to discuss these issues.
Summoning the Israeli defense, Dr. Gilad Noam said that the applicants “did not show a dispute” between the parties [Israel and South Africa,” and “misled the court that such a dispute exists.” As such, the court should have no jurisdiction over the case, said Noam. He also stressed that the South African complaint does not prove any “irreparable harm and emergency” required for the court to issue provisional measures, as “Israel is taking steps to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
“Provisional measures will lead to a perverse situation,” said Noam, which will enable Hamas to continue its military campaign against Israel, continue holding hostages in terrible conditions, and keep thousands of Israelis displaced from returning to their homes in the south of the country.
Noam suggested that South Africa “seeks to portray Israel as a state-less law,” even though Israel’s legal system is robust and independent, including the military justice system within the IDF itself. “Israeli legal authorities know to draw the line between troubling and even obscene statements that fall within the freedom of speech and those stepping outside of this line,” he noted, adding that statements regarded as inciting are currently being studied by the legal authorities.
Pursuing the Israeli defense, Professor Galit Raguan presented ‘’facts on the ground,’’ noting that the applicants have completely ignored the strategy of Hamas of turning hospitals, homes, mosques, and United Nations compounds into military infrastructures.
Raguan showed pictures of rockets and missiles hidden in a children’s room, of rocket fire launched from the roof of a United Nations building, of tunnels dug under the Gaza Shifa hospital. ‘’In every hospital the IDF has searched, it found evidence of Hamas military use,’’ she added.
Raguan explained that the IDF has been deploying considerable efforts in mitigating civilian harm, including millions of leaflets dropped over the Strip, encouraging civilians to distance themselves from areas subjected to bombing, and 70,000 direct phone calls to Gaza residents with similar warnings. The IDF has engaged in large-scale efforts for mitigating civilian harm, ‘’some exceeding requirements of the international law,’’ said Raguan. These efforts, said Raguan, were absurdly presented by South Africa as proof of an alleged genocidal intent.
Raguan stressed that there is ‘’no limit of the amounts of food, water, or medical equipment allowed to enter Gaza.’’ Such a policy of enabling humanitarian aid is completely incompatible with claims of genocidal actions, she noted. If Israel had such intent, would it have delayed its ground offensive by weeks?’’ asked Raguan, noting the delay was decided to protect Gaza civilians.
Dr. Omri Sender refuted the need for provisional measures, arguing that Israel has been, in fact, facilitating the entry into the Gaza Strip of humanitarian assistance. ‘’Only this week, Israel enabled a UN delegation to enter into Gaza,’’ said Sender, with the purpose of ‘’evaluating the situation on the ground and a future return of Palestinians into the north of the Gaza Strip.’’
Sender noted that Israel is enabling entry into the strip of food, water, and medical teams in coordination with UNICEF and other UN bodies. There is a constant delivery of fuel and cooking gas, said Sender, detailing that a Dec. 10 report showed that some 180,000 litters of cooking gas are entering Gaza daily. This delivery corresponds to ‘’the targeted amount requested by the UN itself,’’ he said. Sender added that ‘’the condition of emergency [for provisional measures] is not as easily reached as claimed by the applicants,’’ he argued.
Sender quoted the IDF on Jan. 8, saying it ‘’started a transition to fewer ground troops and less air strikes,’’ further quoting the Israeli army saying that ‘’Israel will continue to reduce the number of troops in Gaza.’’
Hostages remembered outside
An empty Shabbat table was placed staged outside the ICJ building in the Hague, with empty seats for all of the hostages held in Gaza. David Saranga, head of Israel’s fore ministry’s digital department, told The Jerusalem Post that ‘’family members of the hostages are present in the Hague for the display of the empty Shabbat table. Dozens of Israel supporters are also present at the place, waving the Israeli flag,’’ adding that large forces of police are keeping the Palestinian activists at arms-length.
Israelis host an empty Shabbat table to mark the Israeli hostages still in Hamas captivity outside of the ICJ at the Hague, the Netherlands, January 12, 2024
Representatives of the families of the hostages are also present in the court itself. A diplomatic source noted to the Post that the South African complaint is causing the families extreme distress and sorrow, as they see their terrible plight ignored and their loved ones forgotten and discarded by the applicants.
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