Sa’ar says he’ll start work on filing genocide case against Iran at International Court of Justice

Cabinet minister Gideon Sa’ar says he will begin working on having Israel file a case against Iran in the International Court of Justice on genocide charges, pointing out that Iranian leaders have called for Israel’s destruction and that Iran gives strong backing to Hamas and other Gaza terror groups that carried out the October 7 atrocities.

Numerous experts in international law have said that the massacres and other crimes carried out by Hamas on October 7 likely constitute a genocidal act since they appear to have been aimed at destroying “in whole or in part” a national group, in this case Israelis.

“There are public statements by senior Iranian officials in favor of destroying Israel,” Sa’ar tells the Kan public broadcaster.

“Iran finances, arms, and trains all the jihadi terrorists organizations including Hamas and Islamic Jihad which carried out October 7, so in my opinion there is an abundance of evidence which can be submitted to the court in the Hague,” adds Sa’ar, a former justice minister.

He notes that he has spoken with National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi on the issue and says that he intends to ensure that such a suit is filed against Iran.

“Israel is a small and persecuted nation that is fighting for its life and at the same time is fighting on the international stage for its right to self defense. It is a nation that is truly at risk of genocide given that there are enemies around it that declaredly want to destroy it,” he says.