Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice to defend itself against charges of committing genocide in Gaza, a government spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday. The announcement came in response to a case filed by the government of South Africa last week, alleging that Israel’s campaign against Hamas violates international law—charges the Israeli government denounced as “absurd blood libel.”
The International Court of Justice, headquartered in the Hague, Netherlands, serves as the United Nations’ venue for resolving legal disputes between states. However, its rulings can often be ignored despite the court’s considerable influence, as was the case with the ruling against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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South Africa’s petition to the ICJ on Friday claims that Israel’s retaliation for the October 7 terrorist attacks is in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, leading to mass civilian casualties in Gaza. According to the filings, South Africa alleges that “acts and omissions by Israel … are genocidal in character,” with the intention of turning the war with Hamas into a broader ethnic purge of the region.
The government of South Africa, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, has taken a strong stance against the Israeli war effort, with many officials comparing the occupation of Gaza to South Africa under apartheid. In late November, South African lawmakers voted to close the Israeli embassy and suspend diplomatic relations as thousands of protesters took to the streets of Johannesburg to demand a ceasefire. In December, the country also petitioned the International Criminal Court, a related legal body, to investigate Israel’s actions.
Israel has vehemently denied these charges, and government officials have expressed no intention to end the war. The Israeli government has frequently refused to abide by other ICJ decisions in the past, claiming that the organization is unfairly biased against it.
However, the significant reputational damage posed by South Africa’s accusations has warranted a more meaningful response in this case. The petition calls on the ICJ to order Israel to immediately suspend military operations in Gaza pending a full hearing. An ICJ hearing could be multiple years away, but an interim order could be granted within weeks, potentially complicating Israel’s ground campaign.
In a rare acknowledgment of ICJ proceedings, Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy announced on Tuesday that the country will defend itself against the charges.
“The state of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at the Hague to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” he said. Levy also accused the government of South Africa of “giving political and legal cover” to Hamas, warning the country’s leaders that “history will judge you, and it will judge you without mercy.”
Indeed, even as it levels accusations of genocide against Israel, South Africa has itself been accused of permitting a hidden genocide against White South Africans. Since the end of the apartheid regime in 1991, bands of attackers have killed an estimated 2,500 White farmers, most descended from the Dutch Boers that colonized the region between the 17th and 19th Centuries. The “farm murders” continue to be an ongoing problem, with countless people being killed, raped, and tortured while their homes are looted and burned—but the South African government refuses to address or even acknowledge the problem.
(RELATED: South African Leader Julius Malema Leads Crowd in “Kill the Boer” Chant)
The latest estimates from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry indicate that 22,000 people, mostly noncombatants, have been killed by Israel’s attacks. Israel contradicts these claims, reporting that 8,000 Hamas fighters have been killed in a proportionate response to the 1,200 Israelis murdered on October 7.
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