Genocide Case Against Israel Opens at The Hague With Blistering Condemnation of Gaza War

South Africa’s lawyers tore into Israel on Thursday morning in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, citing statements by Israeli leaders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hardliners in his cabinet, as well as video clips and descriptions of the Israeli assault on Gaza to bolster their claim that Israel has been conducting genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

“Israel’s special genocidal intent is rooted in the belief that the enemy is not just the military wing of Hamas, or just Hamas generally, but is embedded in the fabric of life in Gaza,” said South Africa’s senior counsel, Adila Hassam as she stood before the 15-judge panel in a full courtroom.

Describing the destruction of Gaza and the killing of civilians, Hassam projected videos of the horrors of the war, without any mention of the Hamas-led terror attack that precipitated the current war. 

“Nothing will stop the suffering without an order from this court,” Hassam said.

“Genocides are never declared in advance. but this court has the benefit of the last 13 weeks of evidence,” which she said justified “a plausible claim of genocidal acts.”

A second South African attorney, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, focused on comments from Israeli officials that he argued supported the claim that Israel’s actions in Gaza constituted genocide

“Israel’s special genocidal intent is rooted in the belief that the enemy is not just the military wing of Hamas or just Hamas generally, but is embedded in the fabric of life in Gaza,” he said..

He cited a comment by Netanyahu in a speech on October 28, when he told Israelis, “You must remember what Amalek did to you.” 

In the Hebrew Bible, the Amalekites attacked the Israelites as they fled Egypt, and the Bible later calls for killing the entire nation of Amalek, as well as its animals, “Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses!”

Apparently concerned that his remarks, and his earlier failure to condemn similar remarks by right-wing cabinet members and some military officers, Netanyahu said on Wednesday saying Israel had no intention of removing the Palestinian people from Gaza.

Netanyahu issued a video statement on the eve of the trial defending his country's actions.

“Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population,” he said. “Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law.”

The 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide, the first human rights treaty adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”

Both South Africa and Israel are signatories to the U.N. convention, which was largely a response to the Nazi genocide of the Jews in World War II.

Israeli lawyers are likely to note repeated statements by the country's leaders and commanders that its war is aimed only at destroying Hamas, and the fact that several Israeli officials have said recently that they have no interest in removing Palestinians from Gaza, while noting that Hamas fighters hide among civilians and fire their rockets from homes and schools.

The ICJ, a body that is often confused with the International Criminal Court, its neighbor in the Dutch city of The Hague, handles disputes between states and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues.

It could take years for the court to give a final ruling, but South Africa wants an immediate injunction against Israel to end the war. While the court has no police of its own to enforce the ruling, member states are obliged to respect the ruling, and Israel said in a cable to its embassies that a ceasefire order could have “practical bilateral, multilateral, economic, security ramifications.”