Israeli foreign minister hopes for dismissal of ICJ genocide case

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli foreign minister on Friday expressed his hope that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) would reject the lawsuit filed by South Africa accusing his government of committing genocide in Gaza.

Israel has continued its attacks on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by Hamas, killing more than 23,000 Palestinians, besides turning the territory to ruins and causing shortages of food, water and medicine.

South Africa’s case, filed in December, argues that Israel violated the 1948 Genocide Convention. It filed an 84-page document with the court detailing acts it says amount to genocide in Gaza.

The court in The Hague heard South Africa’s arguments on Thursday, while Israel defended its actions on Friday, and the two-day hearing ended.

Katz in a statement said some countries have “double standards” against Israel, adding that "there is no basis for South Africa's allegations" and "no evidence has been presented for that, but only evidence of an unparalleled moral defensive war."

Katz said “South Africa itself is violating the Genocide Convention by supporting Hamas, which calls for the elimination of the state of Israel.”

“I called the legal adviser of the Foreign Ministry to thank him and the members of the Israeli legal team for their impressive appearance, which undermined all of South Africa's hypocritical arguments, and revealed its true face as a loyal representative of a terrorist organization that slaughters children, women, and adults inhumanely," he added.

“I hope that the complaint will be completely dismissed and I believe that justice will prevail."​​​​​​​

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi