South Africa presentation on ‘genocidal intent’ highlights problem for Israel in The Hague case

THE HAGUE — The presentation by South Africa representative Tembeka Ngcukaitobi alleging genocidal intent on behalf of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza highlights a key problem for Israel in the case against it in the International Court of Justice.

According to the Genocide Convention, the killing of civilians must be accompanied by deliberate intent in order to be considered genocide, so inflammatory comments by senior Israeli officials, including the prime minister, defense minister, and other members of the security cabinet cited by Ngcukaitobi are very damaging.

Juxtaposing those comments with videos of IDF soldiers repeating messages alleging there are no innocent people in Gaza — even if these are outliers — presents a line of argument that the Israeli representatives will need to overcome in their defense against the charges on Friday.

During his presentation, Ngcukaitobi references not only senior ministers but also numerous MKs, including Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Nissim Vaturi who said on X that the goal was “erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the earth.”

He also pointed to President Isaac Herzog’s comments about the October 7 atrocities, saying “it’s an entire nation out there that is responsible” and his signing of an artillery shell destined to be used in the war in Gaza, as well as inflammatory comments by popular musicians, journalists and others about destroying or “erasing” Gaza as evidence of genocidal rhetoric that had filtered down to actions by IDF soldiers on the ground in Gaza.

Crucially, the proceedings this week are not seeking a definitive ruling whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, but rather provisional court orders against Israel on the basis that the allegations of genocide are simply plausible, a much lower evidentiary bar.