Gilad Noam at the International Court of Justice
(Video: UN WEB TV)
Israel on Friday countered South Africa's appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague after the top court on Thursday opened two days of hearings into a request asking it to issue additional temporary orders against Israel to require it to halt its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah by forcing a cease-fire.
It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice for emergency measures since the nation launched proceedings alleging that Israel’s military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. The court will make the decision on whether to grant South Africa's request within a few days, due to the urgency of the request, Israeli experts believe.
If Israel ignores any new orders, the issue will go to the Security Council, where the US may side with Israel and impose a veto. However, in Jerusalem, there is fear that disobeying the orders to stop the war could further complicate Israel's political situation vis-à-vis various countries, and especially vis-à-vis important countries such as Great Britain and Germany, and may even cause those countries to consider imposing an arms embargo.
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Court's president Joan Donoghue (C) and associate judges arrive to hear South African arguments to the International Court of Justice
(Photo: Nick Gammon / AFP)
Issuing orders that Israel will not comply with could also greatly increase the chance that the International Criminal Court in The Hague will issue arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials. The Office of the Chief Prosecutor in The Hague is already discussing several open cases against Israel and Hamas and, as far as is known, at least one of them is related to construction in the settlements and one to the war in Gaza.
Ynet learned Wednesday that Israel asked to postpone the hearing in The Hague until next week but the request was rejected by the court and its Lebanese president. The Israeli team includes representatives from the ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs, and Defense. The delegation is headed by the Deputy Ombudsman for International Legal Affairs, Dr. Gilad Noam.
In the first months of the war, South Africa appealed to the International Court of Justice and accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. In her renewed application to the court, she asked for orders to be issued in order to "protect against further, serious and irreversible damage to the rights of the Palestinian people within the framework of the Genocide Convention", and "to ensure Israel's compliance with its obligation under the Genocide Convention not to engage in genocide, and to prevent and punish for genocide."
Israeli Justice Ministry official Gilad Noam called South Africa's case, which accuses Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, "completely divorced from facts and circumstances".
"(The case) makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide," Noam said. "Israel is engaged in a war it did not want and did not start. it is under attack and is fighting to defend itself and its citizens."
“Hamas has vowed to continue the atrocities of October 7 many times over. Rafah in particular is a focal point for ongoing terrorist activity. Nearly 700 tunnel shafts have been identified in Rafah, from which approximately 50 tunnels cross into Egypt. These tunnels are used by Hamas to supply itself with weapons and ammunition and could potentially be used to smuggle out of Gaza hostages, or Hamas senior operators,” Noam told the court.
“At what point do we say enough to South Africa’s repeated attempts to exploit the provisional measure procedure of this court in such a vile and cynical manner?” Noam wondered.
“This war, like all wars, is tragic and terrible for Israelis and Palestinians, and it has exacted a terrible human price — but it is not genocide. I can only recall once again that Israel made it clear that if the hostages were released and Hamas were to lay down its arms the hostilities would cease.”
“South Africa has asked the court to order the cessation of military operation by Israel in its previous request. The court has not done so. The court is well aware that to do so would mean that 132 hostages would remain to languish in Hamas’ tunnels forsaken. It would mean that Hamas would be left unhindered and free to continue its attacks against Israeli territory and Israeli civilians. It would turn the Genocide Convention into a sword rather than a shield," he added.
Foreign Ministry deputy legal adviser, Tamar Kaplan Turgeman, detailed to the court Israel’s humanitarian and medical aid efforts throughout the Strip carried out by the country and the IDF throughout its offensive in Gaza.
“The State of Israel requests the court to reject the request for the modification and indication of provisional measures submitted by the Republic of South Africa,” Kaplan Turgeman concluded, after which a woman in the crowd yelled toward her “Liars, liars and free Palestine” before being escorted out of the room.
Shouts against Israel at the ICJ
(Video: UN WEB TV)
The court posited a question to Israel asking if it can provide information “about the existing humanitarian conditions in the designated evacuation zones,” and how it means to ensure safe passage to these zones alongside humanitarian assistance to all evacuees that are present and are expected to arrive in them.
The ICJ has allowed Israel to answer the court’s inquiry by Saturday evening.