The International Court of Justice in The Hague on Thursday heard the prosecution of South Africa, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and of the lack of punishment for those guilty of inciting the genocide. Prosecutors cited statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Israeli ministers as evidence of genocidal intent. Israel is to defend itself against the charges on Friday, it is reported Haaretz and AFP.

Israel is in violation of its obligations under the UN Genocide Convention, signed in 1949 after the Holocaust, and the October 7 attack by Hamas cannot justify violating that convention, South Africa charged at the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday. of the highest jurisdiction of the UN, reports AFP.

A preliminary hearing this week will consider whether the court should order Israel to cease hostilities while it fully investigates the merits of the case.

Lawyers in Pretoria took their case to the UN’s top court, asking its judges to urgently order Israel to “immediately suspend its military operations” in the Gaza Strip.

South Africa said on Thursday that Israel is subjecting the Palestinian people to acts of apartheid and genocide as it opened a hearing against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

“South Africa alleges that Israel has violated Article 2 of the Convention (on genocide) by committing acts that fall within the definition of genocide. These actions indicate a systematic pattern of behavior from which the inference of genocide can be drawn,” said Adila Hasim, a lawyer at the High Court of South Africa.

In the 84-page complaint filed, South Africa acknowledges the “unequivocal weight” of its allegations of genocide against Israel and “unequivocally” condemns the October 7 attack by Hamas.

But Israel’s actions in Gaza are aimed at “causing the destruction of a large part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group,” she charges.

In its accusations, South Africa refers to Prime Minister Netanyahu

South Africa cited a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said “remember what Amalek will do” (a reference to the one who persecuted the Israelites in the Bible) and said Israeli soldiers showed they got the message.

South Africa says it is clear the prime minister’s reference to Amalek is being used by soldiers to justify killing civilians and carry out Netanyahu’s order.

On Friday, Israel must speak before the judges of the International Court of Justice.

Demonstrations in support of Palestine

Dozens of demonstrators gathered in Cape Town on Thursday and other rallies were planned in South Africa in support of Pretoria’s genocide complaint against Israel on the first day of hearings in The Hague at the International Court of Justice.

On the steps of the High Court in Cape Town, pro-Palestinian demonstrators waved placards with messages such as “Stop the Genocide” and “Boycott Israeli Apartheid”.

Some demonstrators chanted “Free Paletrina!”

Other demonstrations are planned later in Cape Town as well as in Pretoria.

“This file is important to put an end to the genocide that is currently taking place in the Gaza Strip,” South Africa’s Justice Minister Ronald Lamola told the SABC after arriving in The Hague, where he is supporting a team of lawyers.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party in Pretoria has long supported the Palestinian cause, which it links to the struggle against apartheid.

Nelson Mandela said South Africa’s freedom was “incomplete” without Palestinian freedom.

Israel likens the trial to a conspiracy theory

Israeli government spokesman Eilon Levy compared the trial to a centuries-old anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that falsely accused Jews of ritual infanticide: “The State of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice to dispel South Africa’s absurd slander.”