Jeremy Corbyn at THe Hague
(Video: Courtesy of Channel 13)
Former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn praised on Thursday South Africa following the session at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where it presented its claims that Israel was committing acts akin to "genocide" in the Gaza Strip.
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Corbyn described the event as a historic moment, "because of the brilliant presentation today... I think we all should say a huge thank you to South Africa for standing up on behalf of the rest of the world to the aggression that is going on in Gaza."
Later, Corbyn refused to answer a question from Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth's correspondent in The Hague, Nadav Eyal, regarding whether Hamas bears any responsibility for the war. He abruptly ended the interview upon realizing he was speaking to an Israeli journalist.
Corbyn, who has previously accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and refused to label Hamas as a terrorist organization, said that he came to The Hague "to witness the application being made by South Africa to the International Court of Justice."
He extensively discussed the suffering of Gazans, without mentioning Israeli citizens or the October 7 massacre. "The heart-rending account of what's happened to the people in Gaza - the loss of life, the destruction of hospitals and schools, and the way children are being targeted by bombings," he said.
Additionally, Corbyn expressed hope that "this weekend there's going to be demonstrations all over the world. In London, we expect at least half a million people to take to the streets of London once again in solidarity with the Palestinian people. I am just appalled and disgusted when I turn on the computer and television and just witness these scenes of heart-rending destruction of human life. It's also significant that all around the world so many people are now taking to the streets to demonstrate their support for Palestine."
Corbyn also commended that "despite everything, the culture, the cultural values of Palestine are still understood as seen around the world," and declared, "We will not allow the denial of the Palestinian people and their heritage."
He criticized the Israeli delegation which he said "haven't published anything in advance, whereas South Africa released the totality of its documents, 80 plus pages of it."
Corbyn said he came to The Hague "because the South African delegation asked me if I could attend, and I have. And I am very proud to be here. I have been very active in support of the rights of Palestinian people all my life and will continue to be all my life because they've been so badly treated by history."
Later, Corbyn evaded addressing a past incident when he referred to a Hamas delegation in Britain as "our friends". "I'm sorry, this incident that you referred to took place more than a decade ago. It was in a meeting when I was asking where somebody had gone from the meeting. At that time, by the way, Tony Blair and many others were meeting Hamas almost every day," he said.
Corbyn abruptly ended the interview upon realizing he was speaking with an Israeli journalist and refused to respond to whether Hamas bears any partial responsibility for the war that erupted following the October 7 massacre.