Hamas says Washington pressing for Israel to avoid ‘genocide’ conviction

By Dilara Afifi

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Friday denounced the US State Department's claim that Israel "did not commit genocide" in the Gaza Strip.

It said it considered the comments as "a blatant American attempt to press for Israel to avoid condemnation."

Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishq said: “The US State Department’s claim that Israel did not commit genocide … is a blatant and rejected American attempt to anticipate the International Court of Justice’s decision, and to pressure for Israel to avoid conviction for committing massacres and genocide that are continuing to this day with full American support and partnership.”

“The American administration, which still refuses to stop the aggression against Gaza, by preventing the (UN) Security Council from taking a decision to stop the aggression against our Palestinian people, and its continued supply of weapons and ammunition to the occupation to bomb women and children, makes it a biased party and an accomplice in murders,” said Rishq.

The US has “no right to speak about values, morals, and international laws that are violated in broad daylight and in full view of the entire world,” he added.

The Hamas statement came ahead of a session Friday by the International Court of Justice regarding requests for interim measures in the case filed by South Africa on Dec. 29 against Israel on charges of violating the UN convention during its attacks on Gaza.

On Thursday, the US State Department said the Biden administration expects Israel to comply with international law and take additional steps to protect civilians and that there is no truth to the allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 26,083 Palestinians and injuring 64,487 others. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while more than half of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi