Israel's El Al suspends flights to South Africa on eve of world court decision

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli airline El Al announced on Friday its suspension of flights to South Africa, the country that filed a genocide case against it at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

“El Al announced the suspension of its flights to Johannesburg in South Africa, starting at the end of March,” the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The decision came the same day the world court is set to issue an initial ruling in the case, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

“El Al is expected to stop operating flights to South Africa due to a lack of passengers, originating from South Africa's accusations of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice, according to a source within the company,” Jerusalem Post daily reported.

The daily quoted the unnamed source as saying: “In view of the security situation and the case in The Hague, Israelis do not want to fly to South Africa, preferring new destinations instead, such as Tokyo, the US, and Thailand.”

On Jan. 11-12, the International Court of Justice held two public hearings on the case, and this week it said it would issue a decision on the case on Friday.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the GazaStrip since a cross-border attack by Hamas which Tel Aviv says killed 1,200 people.

At least 26,083 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 64,487 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi​​​​​​​