Israel has accused South Africa of distorting reality in its bid to get the UN Supreme Court to halt its military campaign in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) began two days of hearings on Thursday, when South Africa told the court that Israel intended to “exterminate the country.” [the Palestinians] disappeared from the face of the earth,” calling Rafah “the last stand.”
Lawyers for Israel presented their response to the court on Friday.
The court is already considering a case filed by South Africa in January accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has dismissed the claim as false and “highly distorted.”
In its latest filing, South Africa also seeks to force Israel to allow “unhindered access” to Gaza for aid workers, journalists and researchers.
South Africa took its case to the court in The Hague, accusing Israel of escalating what it claims is a genocidal campaign against the Palestinians.
The Rafah campaign was “the final step in the destruction of Gaza and its Palestinian people”, South African lawyer Vaughan Lowe KC told the court.
“It was Rafah who brought South Africa to justice. But it is all Palestinians as a national, ethnic and racial group who need the protection from genocide that the court can order,” he said.
But in Israel’s response, Deputy Attorney General Gilad Noam said this was a reversal of reality.
“South Africa warns this court that, and I quote, ‘if Rafah falls, Gaza falls too’. But again, the reality is quite the opposite,” he said.
“Only by tearing down Hamas’s military stronghold in Rafah will Palestinians be freed from the clutches of the murderous terrorist regime and the road to peace and prosperity finally paved.”
The hearing was briefly interrupted when a woman shouted “liars” during the Israeli subjugation before being removed by guards.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein, in a message on
Israel began its attack on Hamas in Rafah 11 days ago, amid warnings from the UN and others of a serious risk to civilians. More than a million displaced people had taken refuge in Rafah and more than 630,000 people have fled there since the operation began, the UN said.
Israel says its offensive in Rafah is necessary to destroy the last remaining Hamas battalions stationed there and to rescue some 130 remaining Israeli hostages they say are being held there.
In January, in a highly charged case that was closely watched around the world, the ICJ ordered Israel to take measures to prevent potentially genocidal acts in Gaza. It also ordered Israel to do more to enable the delivery of aid to the people there.
The court’s then president, Joan Donoghue, told the BBC last month that the International Court of Justice has not decided that there are plausible arguments for genocide, but that Palestinians have the right to be protected from genocide.
It is expected that the International Court of Justice will not rule on the genocide case in the coming years. The rulings are legally binding, but in practice not enforceable by the court.
The latest application is the fourth that South Africa, whose ruling party has a long history of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, has filed with the International Court of Justice against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Israel began its offensive in Gaza after gunmen from the ruling Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking 252 others hostage.
At least 35,303 people have since been killed by Israel in the Gaza war, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the area.
