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Court order for cease-fire would be ‘astonishing,’ Israel says
Israel’s legal team has described as “astonishing” South Africa’s request for the ICJ to order an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
“This amounts to an attempt to deny Israel its ability to meet its obligations to the defense of its citizens, and to the hostages,” legal adviser to Israel’s Foreign Ministry Tal Becker said. South Africa “makes almost no mention of the ongoing humanitarian suffering of Israel citizens at the hands of Hamas, and treats the hostages still held in captivity as barely an afterthought.”
He said a cease-fire would allow “Hamas not just get away with its murder, literally, but render Israel defenseless as commerce continues to commit.”
Israel’s defense begins, accusing South Africa of parroting Hamas
Tal Becker, legal adviser to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, has launched Israel’s oral arguments at the ICJ, alleging that South Africa’s accusations “sounded barely distinguishable from Hamas’ own rejectionist rhetoric.”
In South Africa’s telling, “both Hamas’ responsibility for the situation in Gaza, and the very humanity of its Israeli victims, are removed from view in the attempt to weaponize the term genocide against Israel,” he said.Becker is also describing graphic details of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which he called “the largest calculated mass murder of Jews in a single day since the Holocaust.” He said “the events of that day have all been ignored in” South Africa’s legal submissions to the court.
In its documents and oral arguments, South Africa said it “unequivocally condemns all violations of international law by all parties, including the direct targeting of Israeli civilians and other nationals and hostage-taking by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.”
Crowds gather outside The Hague on second day of hearing
Protesters carry Palestinian flags outside the International Court of Justice prior to a hearing in The Hague, Netherlands this morning.
Israel set to present its defense in Gaza genocide case
After South Africa’s lawyers spent yesterday morning setting out their case arguing that Israel is guilty of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, today it’s Israel’s turn to defend itself.
The battle at the International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ top court in the Dutch city of The Hague, is a rare one for Israel. It typically derides the U.N. and other international bodies as being biased against it — but this time it is mounting a full-throated defense.
Like yesterday, oral arguments will start at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET). Israel’s defense is being led by Malcolm Shaw, a veteran British lawyer who has represented countries at the ICJ in the past.
Israeli officials have already offered a hint of their position, accusing South Africa yesterday of being the “the legal arm” of Hamas, and calling the case “one of the greatest shows of hypocrisy in history.” South Africa has “unequivocally condemned” Hamas for its Oct. 7 attacks and its case has been focused on Palestinian civilians.
Top Houthi negotiator blames Israel for wider conflicts in Middle East
The Houthis are a powerful force inside Yemen, but they recently emerged on the world stage when they began to blockade the Red Sea in retaliation for Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
