For the first time in its history, Israel is being tried at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague for the worst crime a Jew can imagine: genocide.
The suspicion that Israel is deliberately murdering Palestinian civilians, i.e. committing genocide, seems absurd to a large part of the Israeli population, but the authorities take the accusation very seriously. Not like UN resolutions or other previous threats from the same court in The Hague.
Especially because Israel is a signatory to the Genocide Convention, which South Africa accuses Israel of violating in its lawsuit before the International Court of Justice, and which does not allow the country to ignore it.
The 84-page South African lawsuit cites the large number of Palestinian civilians killed during the war and the lack of food, water and medical care as a result of a planned genocide attempt by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza.
In addition, there are numerous statements made by various Israeli government ministers about the Palestinians, providing a platform for the prosecution to claim that the state actually intends to commit genocide, which legal scholars say is a crucial element in any allegation of one is genocide.
Prime Minister's comments, Benjamin Netanyahufrom the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallantfinance, Bezalel SmotrichNational security, Itamar Ben GvirAll members of the security cabinet, which makes policy decisions on the issue, were portrayed by prosecutors as making comments that dehumanize Palestinians and threaten indiscriminate attacks.
“Israel's actions and omissions, which South Africa complains about, are genocidal in nature because they are aimed at bringing about the destruction of a significant part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group,” the document says.
Netanyahu said on Oct. 28, referring to the biblical enemy of the ancient Israelites, “You must remember what Amalek did to you, our Holy Bible says.” And we remember it. South African prosecutors cited this comment as well as the Bible verse from Samuel that commanded the Israelites to kill all the men, women and children of Amalek. However, in the same speech, Netanyahu stressed that “the military is doing everything possible to prevent harm to non-combatants” and said he was “calling on civilians to evacuate” to safe areas in the Gaza Strip.
According to the indictment, Gallant said Israel was “fighting human animals” and would “act accordingly,” and Smotrich said, “We must strike a blow not seen in 50 years and end Gaza.” They also quote the statement by Ben Gvir: “When we say that Hamas must be destroyed, we also mean those who celebrate, those who support and those who distribute sweets: they are all terrorists and should also be destroyed.” The Minister of Cultural Heritage, Amichai Eliyahucommented that “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza.”
South Africa's request makes no mention of Hamas's practice of integrating its military facilities and fighters into all aspects of Gaza's civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, mosques, schools, homes, UN facilities and other similar sites, including Israeli ones Attacks on this infrastructure are mentioned.
He does mention the Hamas tunnel network once, many of which are located under civilian areas and used only for military purposes, but to point out concerns about the ecological impact of flooding of such tunnels that have led to Cape Israel.
Effects of the judgment
A final ruling from the International Court of Justice is likely to take years. However, South Africa has asked the court to issue interim orders against Israel, which could range from demanding a full and immediate ceasefire – which Israel and the United States strongly oppose because Hamas has not yet been crushed – to insisting that more humanitarian aid is permitted.
But it would be the preliminary decision itself that South Africa's allegations are even plausible that would be most damaging to Israel's position.
In reality, it will be more difficult for Israeli defense to prove the plausibility of genocidal actions is false than to make a final final decision. And in this case there will be many difficulties for Israel. First of all, foreign support for an Israel that the ICJ says is committing genocide would be very complicated.
The legal team representing Israel does not speak to the press and the authorities remain silent on the defense line.
“I am sure that Israel is not committing genocide and is not committing a crime under international law,” said León Amiras, a lawyer and vice president of the Jerusalem Bar Association. “International law has no teeth like criminal and civil law. In this case, the United Nations is trying to give some existence to international law through this court.” “Israel's activities in other wars, in the occupied territories, could be debated, but in this case it is an act of self-defense. “
Israel's top legal representative in the courtroom of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, British lawyer Malcolm Shawargue that civilian casualties are the unintended result of Israel's war goal of destroying Hamas and the fact that the terror group has embedded its military installations and fighters so deeply into Gaza's civilian population and infrastructure.
And it is likely to be argued that the comments by Israeli security cabinet ministers were taken out of context, were directed not at Palestinian civilians but at Hamas leaders and fighters, or were not reflected in the military's behavior.
The 15 permanent judges who serve on the court are appointed by the United Nations General Assembly and come from countries with widely varying levels of judicial independence. The president of the court is the judge Joan Donoghue from the United States, and other judges come from democratic countries such as France, Germany, Australia, India, Slovakia, Jamaica, Japan and Brazil.
Both South Africa and Israel will send their appointed judges as ad hoc members to the panel hearing the case. Israel's judge will be the former president of the Supreme Court Aaron Barak. The other judges come from Russia, China, Morocco, Somalia, Lebanon and Uganda. And there is concern in Israel about the degree of its independence.