From the Liveblog of
Friday, January 12, 2024
South Africa’s charges against Israel are ‘grossly distorted,’ Israel legal adviser at ICJ says
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Israel’s military actions in Gaza are acts of self-defense against Hamas and other terrorist organizations, the legal adviser for Israel’s Foreign Ministry says at the opening of the second day of hearings at the World Court on Friday.
The adviser, Tal Becker, says South Africa on Thursday brought “a grossly distorted story” as it accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza during the first day of the hearings of the case it brought to the UN’s top court.
“If there have been acts that may be characterized as genocidal, then they have been perpetrated against Israel. If there is a concern about the obligations of states under the Genocide Convention, then it is in relation to their responsibilities to act against Hamas’s proudly declared agenda of annihilation, which is not a secret and is not in doubt,” Becker says.
He says Israel says is committed to complying with the law amid the war, “but it does so in the face of Hamas’s utter contempt for the law.”
He argues the “appalling suffering” of civilians, both Israeli and Palestinian, is the result of Hamas strategy, while South Africa’s demands that Israel halt the war would render Israel defenseless.
The Times of Israel Community.