Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed claims of genocide in Gaza as nothing more than “hypocrisy” on Thursday as South Africa brought a case against the Jewish State at the World Court.
Netanyahu is the latest Israeli official to criticize the International Court of Justice hearings being held in Hauge, South Africa, where members of the World Court are hearing cases against the Jewish State’s war on Gaza and its civilian costs.
The Israeli leader accused South Africa of “insolent gall” for representing the “monster” Hamas by taking the allegations to court.
“A terrorist organization committed the worst crime against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and now someone comes to its defense in the name of the Holocaust,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “What’s rude. The world has turned upside down.”
Netanyahu added: “South Africa’s hypocrisy screams to the high Heavens. Where was South Africa when millions of people were killed and uprooted from their homes in Syria and Yemen, by whom? By Hamas partners.
“We will continue to refute the lie. We will continue to uphold our right to defend ourselves and secure our future – until total victory,” the prime minister said.
Netanyahu has long defended the war as a necessary security measure for Israel after it suffered the October 7 terrorist attacks that saw more than 1,200 people killed and more than 240 others kidnapped.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the trial against Israel at the World Court accusing the Jewish State of committing genocide in Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu/X The International Court of Justice began hearing allegations against the war in Gaza on Thursday. Reuters
Israel has also accused Hamas of using mass rape as a weapon of war during brutal terrorist attacks, an allegation that is being separately investigated on the world stage.
The prime minister’s criticism was joined by opposition leader Yair Lapid, who said the trial against Israel had put the “integrity of the international community” at risk.
“If a country that protects itself from terrorist attacks of brutal murder can find itself in court for genocide, then the genocide convention has become a reward for terrorism and antisemitism,” Lapid said. “Instead of the murderer being judged, the world judges the murdered.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat claimed South Africa was effectively “functioning as a legal arm of Hamas.”
The death toll in Gaza had surpassed 23,000 on Wednesday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. AFP via Getty Images Many of those killed and wounded in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza include women and children. AP Despite Israel’s vow to reduce the war in Gaza, fighting and bombing remain as intense as ever. AFP via Getty Images
Israeli officials from across the political spectrum have come together to denounce the indictment presented to the World Court, which alleges that the Jewish State actively engaged in genocide to rid Gaza of its Palestinian population.
The claims came as the death toll in Gaza topped 23,000 on Wednesday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, with almost all of the 2.3 million Palestinians living in the territory displaced from their homes.
Some right-wing Israeli representatives continue to claim that it is the Jewish State’s mission to clear Gaza for its own residents to settle, a position that Netanyahu has rejected.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry joined in the criticism of the case brought by South Africa. AP South African officials have claimed that the ongoing war in Gaza has claimed too many civilian casualties and the number of massacres against Palestinians. AP
South Africa’s case against Israel has been supported by the 56 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as other independent countries such as Bolivia and Venezuela.
Israel has seen the strongest support from the US, which has slammed the genocide allegations as “baseless.” Germany and Austria have also chosen to dismiss the claims as “false.”
Despite criticism from Jewish leaders, Gil Dickmann – whose cousin Carmel Gat, 39, has been held hostage by Hamas – said the World Court case may favor Israel.
Dickmann said the hearing was the perfect opportunity for Israel to present to the world what it had endured at the hands of Hams since the “nightmare” of the October 7 terrorist attacks.
“The whole world should understand that this is a crime against humanity that Hamas has committed,” Dickmann told NBC News. “In a way, it’s great to see that the Israeli government chose this way to show the world the war and the reality we’re facing.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
