South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice alleges that Israel is violating international law by committing and failing to prevent genocidal acts “to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.” The case has produced a showdown not only in the international court but in the court of public opinion.
Israel has condemned the claims. “We are fighting terrorists, and we are fighting lies,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in remarks Thursday. “Today, again, we saw an upside down world, in which the State of Israel is accused of genocide at a time when it is fighting genocide.”
But as preliminary hearings on the case began Thursday, South Africa’s delegation pushed back against Israeli accusations of bias. “No matter how monstrous or appalling an attack or provocation, genocide is never a permitted response,” said Vaughan Lowe, a member of South Africa’s delegation.
The case hinges on the definition of genocide and whether the judges find that Israel’s actions in and plans for the Gaza Strip meet that bar under international law.
It “can take years to resolve a case on the merits” at the International Court of Justice, said Adil Haque, an expert on ethics and law in wartime at Rutgers University.