Posted on 05/17/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday continued the hearing begun Thursday, hearing Israel's counter-arguments detailing why the State of Israel is not, in fact, guilty of genocide, as South Africa has claimed.
South Africa is now demanding that the ICJ order a ceasefire in Gaza.
Tamar Kaplan-Tourgeman, one of Israel’s legal team, noted that "Israel takes extraordinary measures in order to minimize the harm to civilians in Gaza."
Dr. Gilad Noam, Deputy Attorney General (International Law) at the Justice Ministry, began by stating that the claims made by South Africa are completely unconnected from the reality of what is happening on the ground.
He also noted that Hamas is not a party to the 1948 Genocide Convention, and therefore an order for Israel to end its war against Hamas would allow Hamas to continue its attacks on Israel.
He also said that South Africa's case against Israel "makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide" and is "an obscene exploitation of the most sacred convention."
"There is a tragic war going on, but there is no genocide," he stressed.