From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 11, 2024
At international court, South Africa lawyer claims some of Israel’s acts in Gaza fit ‘genocide’ charges
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
THE HAGUE — An attorney for South Africa puts forward the accusation that Israel is committing “acts of genocide” during its war against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
“South Africa contends that Israel has transgressed Article II of the convention, by actions which show a systematic pattern of conduct from which genocide can be inferred,” says Adila Hassim.
“Palestinians in Gaza are being killed by Israeli weaponry and bombs from air, land and sea. They are also at immediate risk of death from starvation and disease, due to the destruction of Palestinians towns, the limited aid being allowed in, and the impossibility of distributing aid as the bombs fall. This makes life impossible,” Hassim says.
“It is not necessary for the court to come to a final view whether Israel’s conduct constitutes genocide but only whether some of the acts might possibly be considered within the convention’s provisions,” she says.
“It is clear that at least some, if not all, of these acts do fall within the convention provisions,” she says.
“Israel has also deliberately imposed considerations on Gaza calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the people,” she claims.
The Times of Israel Community.