Legal Counselor of the ministry of foreign affairs of Israel Tal Becker (C) looks on at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on January 12, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) resumed on Friday the second of a two-day hearing in a genocide case against Israel, with the regimes legal team providing "many of the already debunked lies," about Tel Avivs atrocities in the Gaza Strip, according to a Palestinian official.
South Africas team of legal representatives presented the case in front of the UN court - based in The Hague - on Thursday, saying the regime has shown "chilling" and "incontrovertible" intent to commit genocide in Gaza, with full knowledge of how many civilians it is killing.
As the hearing was underway, Israels bombardment of the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of at least 100 Palestinians over the past 24-hour reporting period.
"The acts are all attributable to Israel, which has failed to prevent genocide and is committing genocide in manifest violation of the genocide convention," the case states.
Tal Becker, a top lawyer representing Tel Aviv, however, told the court on Friday that South Africa had "regrettably put before the court a profoundly distorted factual and legal picture."
"If there were acts of genocide, they have been perpetrated against Israel," he claimed.
"In these circumstances, there can hardly be a charge more false and more malevolent than the allegation against Israel of genocide."
Palestinian foreign ministry official Ammar Hijazi said what the regimes representatives presented to the court "are many of the already debunked lies."
"Additionally, we think that what the Israeli team today has tried to provide is the exact thing that South Africa came to the court for - and that is, nothing at all justifies genocide."
South Africas Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola also spoke to members of press outside the ICJ, saying that Israel failed to disprove Pretorias case at the World Court.
He said that the regime "failed to disprove South Africa as compelling that was presented before the Court."
In response to Israel counsel Malcolm Shaw, who described the regimes atrocities in Gaza as "act of self defense, Lamola also said, "Self -defense is no answer to genocide. Nothing can ever justify genocide."
In Tel Aviv, Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a furious response to the hearings that the regime itself is "fighting genocide."
The regimes staunch ally, the US, also denied South Africas case against Israel, with State Department spokesman Matthew Miller describing the legal action as "unfounded."
Washington has provided both military and political support for Israel since the regime waged its all-out war along with a total siege on the populated coastal enclave on Oct. 7, after it was caught off guard by Hamas Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.
The devastating onslaught has so far killed over 23,700 people, more than 10,000 of whom children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
South Africa, which filed the lawsuit at the UN court in December, asked judges Thursday to impose emergency measures ordering Israel to immediately halt the onslaught on the besieged territory.
The court is expected to rule on possible emergency measures later this month, but will not rule at that time on the genocide allegations - those proceedings could take years.
The ICJs decisions are final and without appeal, but it has no way to enforce them.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/29555
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