South Africa’s appeal concerns the violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, which was established after the mass killing of Jews in the Holocaust
Before the International Court of Justice in The Hague calls on Israel to answer accusations of genocide in its war on Gazaas today began the hearing of the request filed by South Africa.
The casebrought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, concerns accusations against Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Conventionenacted after the mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust, which empowers all countries to ensure that the crimes are never repeated.
Israeli government spokesman Eilon Levi compared the lawsuit to a centuries-old anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews killed infants for rituals: “The State of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice to destroy South Africa’s senseless slander, while Pretoria gives political and legal cover to the rapist regime of Hamas.”
Preliminary hearings this week will consider whether the court should order Israel to stop attacks on Palestinians while he will fully investigate the essence of the case.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that his country was prompted to bring the case “due to the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza” and motivated by South Africa’s own history of apartheid.
South Africa at the hearing accused Israel of subjecting Palestinians to acts of genocide and asked the UN’s top court to order an emergency halt to Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza.
South Africa said Israel’s air and ground attack was aimed at bringing about “the destruction of the population” of the Palestinian enclave.
“Israel has genocidal intent against Palestinians in Gaza”Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, a South African High Court advocate, told The Hague court.
“The intent to destroy Gaza has been cultivated at the highest level of the state.” “This is evident from the way this military offensive is being conducted,” he said.
Israel rejected the genocide accusations as “false and baseless”. He accused Pretoria of playing “devil’s advocate” for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist militant group Israel is waging war on Gaza.
The case also reveals an intense international polarization with several Western countries following Washington’s example calling accusations of genocide against Israel unjustified given the ferocity of Hamas attacks that precipitated the war.
“In fact, those who violently attack Israel are those who continue to openly call for the destruction of Israel and the mass murder of Jews,” State Department spokesman Matt Miller said.
Some developing nations, including Brazil, supported South Africa.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zohri told Reuters: “We urge the court to reject any pressure and to take a decision against the Israeli occupation, but also to stop the attack on Gaza”.
Source :Skai
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