Israel Wants To Wipe Palestinians Off The Face Of Earth; Legal Team Tells World Court
South Africa has urged the U.N.’s top court to order a halt to Israel’s offensive in Rafah, saying attacks on the southern Gaza city “must be stopped” to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people.
South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, asked judges on Thursday to order Israel to “immediately, totally and unconditionally, withdraw the Israeli army from the entirety of the Gaza Strip.”
The two days of hearings at the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, are part of a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide.
Israel, which has denounced South Africa’s claim that it is violating the 1949 Genocide Convention as baseless, will respond in court on Friday, Reuters reports.
Last week South Africa asked for additional emergency measures to protect Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have been sheltering.
South Africa also asked the court to order Israel to allow unimpeded access to Gaza for U.N. officials, organisations providing humanitarian aid, journalists and investigators.
A member of South Africa’s legal team Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said Israel’s intent was to destroy Palestinians and wipe them off the face of the earth.
The legal team also told the court that Israel’s military campaign had killed tens of thousands of children and women, destroyed civilian infrastructure and starved the population.
“From the onset, Israel’s intent was always to destroy Palestinian life and to wipe them off the face of the earth. Rafah is the final stand,” Ngcukaitobi, said.
“Israel must be stopped. South Africa is before you again today to respectfully ask the court to invoke its powers … to order a remedy that will stop Israel,” said Adila Hassim, another lawyer for South Africa.
Posting on social media, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said, “South Africa’s claims are both morally and factually distorted” and Israel’s military abides by international law.
“The terrorists of Hamas are using South Africa in their attempt to exploit the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” it said.
At least 35,272 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s seven-month-old assault on the Gaza Strip, health officials in the enclave said on Thursday. The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct.7, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253 others. Of those, 133 are believed to remain in captivity in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
