ICJ Hearings on Genocide in Gaza: Israel's Defense and South Africa's Accusations

2024-01-12 19:23:22

Published on January 12, 2024 at 8:23 p.m. / Modified on January 12, 2024 at 8:57 p.m.

A genocide in Gaza? The 15 judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial body of the UN, completed the first hearings on Friday intended to decide the question. After South Africa, which brought the case before the Court in The Hague, it was the turn of the State of Israel to respond to the accusations. Its lawyers did so in the form of a counter-attack: they accused South Africa of presenting a “deeply distorted” vision of reality. A vision, they came to say, “barely distinct” from that of Hamas, which would consist of depriving Israel of its right to defend itself, even of its right to exist.

The main lines of Israeli defense were as expected. If genocidal acts were committed, it was against Israel, the team of legal experts repeated several times, discussing at length the attack committed by Hamas on October 7, as well as the fate of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza. , but also the founding charter of the movement, or even declarations from some of its leaders.