Israel on Friday called South Africa’s accusations of genocide distorted. They said that it is rather Israel that is protecting itself from genocide by Hamas and that they as a people – if any – know what genocide is. No one can deny that the October 7 attack by Hamas was brutal and resulted in 1,200 deaths, of which about 700 are civilians, according to Israel. This was also presented by South Africa during its statement in the International Court of Justice, ICJ, on Thursday. “Legal hair-splitting that can save lives” But does Israel’s counterattack fall under self-defense under international law or have they crossed the line into genocide as South Africa claims? So that they want to annihilate Palestinians on purpose through various methods. Here we are talking about legal hair splitting that can save lives. On Thursday, South Africa read out incident after incident, and statement after statement, which suggested that Israel views all Gazans as Hamas. If the stated goal is to annihilate Hamas, then all Gazans also mean Israel. Israel claimed the opposite, that they are not after Gazans or Palestinians, on the contrary, they want to protect them from the leadership of Hamas. “The decision may come within days or weeks” How the genocide accusation stands legally, it will likely take several years for the court to decide. But South Africa has also asked the court to make an order that the attacks must stop while the allegations are investigated. That decision could come within days or weeks. It could also be a variant where the court demands greater consideration for civilians or that more humanitarian aid is allowed to enter. In that case, must Israel listen? Well. But it will lead to other countries around the world rethinking their support for Israel’s warfare. At the same time, the demands on Hamas to release the hostages may increase. Then the law can be an untested path towards a ceasefire.
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