Gaza: Accused at International Court of ‘acts of genocide’ by South Africa, Israel rejects them with ‘disgust’

Diplomatic showdown at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). South Africa accused Israel before this international court of engaging in “acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” claims rejected “with disgust” by the Jewish state on Friday.

In its request, South Africa argues that “Israel’s acts and omissions are genocidal in that they are accompanied by the necessary specific intent (…) to destroy the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as part of a larger national, racial and ethnic group.” Palestinian history,” the Hague-based International Court of Justice said in a statement.

According to the country, “by its conduct – through its organs and agents, as well as other persons and organizations acting on its instructions or under its direction, control or influence – towards the Palestinians of Gaza, Israel is not fulfilling its obligations under the Genocide Convention.” . – said the International Court of Justice.

“Israel rejects with disgust the slander (…) propagated by South Africa and its appeal to the International Court,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat said on Broadcast X.

In the Gaza Strip, 21,507 people died.

South Africa’s claim was filed on Friday, the 84th day of the war, sparked by an unprecedented attack carried out by Gaza-based Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7 that killed some 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on based on the latest available official Israeli data. According to the Israeli army, about 250 people were also kidnapped that day, 129 of whom are still being held in the Gaza Strip.

In response, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and is shelling the Palestinian territory, where the Islamist movement seized power in 2007. According to the Hamas health ministry, at least 21,507 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, most of them women and minors. Some 2.4 million residents of the Gaza Strip, 85% of whom the UN says have been forced to flee their homes, continue to face a catastrophic humanitarian situation.

South Africa claims that “Israel, particularly since 7 October 2023, has failed in its obligation to prevent genocide, as well as its obligation to punish direct and public incitement to commit genocide” and has “participated, is participating and risks continuing to participate in acts of genocide against Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” the court said. The International Court of Justice hears disputes between states. His decisions are final, but he has no means to carry them out.