At ICJ, South Africa alleges Israel 'stepping up' genocide in Gaza; Tel Aviv slams 'biased and false claims'
ICJ hearing on Israel
Israel on Thursday (May 16) slammed South Africa for its International Court of Justice (ICJ) case, alleging that the 'genocide' case was "presenting biased and false claims" that "rely on unreliable Hamas sources".
Kicking off the two-dayhearing in The Hague, South Africaaccused Israel of stepping up 'genocide' in Gaza and alleged "Israel's genocide has continued apace and has just reached a new and horrific stage".
Meanwhile, a statement from the Israel Foreign Ministry, as quoted by Reuters, said that "Israel acts in accordance with international law and its humanitarian obligations...while implementing measures to minimise harm to civilians and civilian facilities."
It also called on the ICJ, also known as the World Court, "to reject South Africa's appeal and to bring the abuse of the Court to an end."
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South Africa has also implored the world court to order a ceasefire throughout Gaza.
Previously, in January, the ICJ had ordered Tel Aviv to do everything to prevent genocidal acts and enable humanitarian aid to Gaza.
However, the court, as per AFP, had stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.
Now, South Africa contends that the current situation, most notably the operation in the crowded city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have taken shelter, requires fresh ICJ action.
The Rafah campaign, argued Vaughan Lowe, a lawyer for South Africa, is "the last step in the destruction of Gaza and its Palestinian people".
"It was Rafah that brought South Africa to the court. But it is all Palestinians as a national, ethnical and racial group who need the protection from genocide that the court can order," he added.
However, Israel's foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein in a statement slammed South Africa and said that the nation's "claims are both morally and factually distorted and constitute an abuse of the Genocide Convention and the ICJ."
Israel is scheduled to respond to South Africa's 'genocide' accusations on Friday (May 17).
(With inputs from agencies)
