Israel to contest Gaza genocide accusations filed by South Africa at World Court
- South Africa asked the world court for an urgent order declaring Israel in breach of its obligations under the Genocide Convention in its crackdown against Hamas
- An Israel spokesman accused South Africa of ‘giving political and legal cover’ to Hamas’ October 7 attack that triggered Israel’s war against the militant group
Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague to contest South Africa’s genocide accusations over the war with Hamas in Gaza, an Israeli government spokesman said on Tuesday.
South Africa asked the ICJ on Friday for an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention in its crackdown against Hamas.
“The State of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at The Hague to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” spokesman Eylon Levy told an online briefing.
“We assure South Africa’s leaders, history will judge you, and it will judge you without mercy,” Levy said.
The ICJ, sometimes known as the World Court, is the United Nations venue for resolving disputes between states. Israel’s foreign ministry has said the suit was “baseless”.
The war was triggered by a cross-border attack by Hamas Islamist militants on October 7, which Israel says killed 1,200 people.