Israel experienced a form of national drama on the second day of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) devoted to its war in Gaza. On Friday January 12, the radios broadcast the pleadings of the country’s lawyers before the highest court of the United Nations, in The Hague. On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a complaint against the Jewish state, accusing it of violating the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide. Very few Israelis consider this complaint legitimate.
Only a few hundred of them signed the South African petition, often anonymously. These are the same people who try to protest against the war in the street, during rallies which arouse hostile reactions from passers-by, and which the police ban, like Saturday in Haifa (North), arguing that they cannot ensure security. . The right condemns the ICJ hearings. The State is outraged. The center, like journalist Nadav Eyal, sees “a perversion” and deplores that the country has already ” lost ” by the simple fact that they take place.
These positions are due to a widely shared perception of a war of ” need “, imposed by Hamas, and which remains defensive – whatever the way in which it is carried out. They are due to the horror of the attack of October 7, 2023, the worst massacre perpetrated against Jews since the Shoah, which shakes the reason for being of the protective State. “If there were acts of genocide, they were perpetrated against Israel”affirmed at the opening of the hearing the legal advisor of the Jewish State, Tal Becker.
Claiming that “South Africa enjoys close relations with Hamas, even since October 7 [2023] “, Mr. Becker denounced a procedure which would give “Hamas the possibility of getting away with these murders.” During the three hours of oral arguments, Israel tried to convince the 17 judges to reject the ” Conservatory measures “ claimed by Pretoria. South Africa asks them in particular to urgently order Israel to ” to suspend “ its military operation, to improve the living conditions of Gazans by opening access to humanitarian aid, and to allow entry into the territory for commissions of inquiry.
“There is no genocidal intent”
Demonstrating intent is at the heart of the crime of genocide and makes it specific. To South Africa’s pleadings on January 11, Israel’s lawyers responded that the state had no intention of exterminating Palestinians from Gaza, despite the 23,000 deaths and the displacement of 2 million of people, the systematic destruction of the enclave and the partial siege to which Gaza remains subject. Israel’s advisor rejected this estimate of the number of deaths, provided by the health ministry of the enclave, administered by Hamas, even though the Israeli army no longer questions it.
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