Jerusalem (ANTARA) – Israel on Tuesday decided to appear at the trial at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, to defend itself in the genocide crime case filed by South Africa.
According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, the decision was taken after intensive discussions between top Israeli officials and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Israel has been a signatory to the convention against genocide for decades, and we will of course not boycott the process, but will stand by and reject any senseless plot against us,” Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in a statement late Monday.
The Haaretz daily said the military and Israel’s Attorney General’s Office had begun preparing how to deal with this case at the ICJ.
Last Friday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned South Africa for initiating legal action at the ICJ to investigate crimes of genocide in the Gaza Strip and described South Africa’s actions as a “vile slander” against Israel.
South Africa previously filed a request for legal proceedings against Israel “regarding Israel’s alleged violations of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” the ICJ said in a press release.
“Israel has engaged, is engaging in, and is at risk of further complicity in acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” the African country said.
Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7. At least 22,185 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 58,000 injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli offensive also caused devastation in Gaza, where 60 percent of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents were displaced amid shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Source: Anatolia
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2024-01-02 14:35:01
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