Israeli President Isaac Herzog criticized the lawsuit filed before the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza war.
Herzog said – in his conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who is visiting Tel Aviv today, Tuesday – that “there is nothing more brutal and ridiculous” than the lawsuit filed before the Court of Justice, criticizing South Africa, which filed the lawsuit.
South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel before the highest court of the United Nations, accusing it of committing genocide. In turn, the court set the dates of January 11 and 12 to hold the hearings.
Herzog added, “We will be there at the International Court of Justice and we will proudly present our case regarding the use of self-defense according to our inherent right in accordance with international humanitarian law,” he said.
It is noteworthy that the decisions of the International Court of Justice are generally binding, but the judges do not have the authority to impose the implementation of these rulings on the state.
In its lawsuit, South Africa focuses on the Genocide Convention signed by the two countries, and believes that UN judges must first issue an order to quickly end the war against the Palestinians to protect their rights.
Since last October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza that, as of Tuesday, left 23,210 martyrs and 59,167 injured, most of them children and women, massive infrastructure destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to the Gaza Strip authorities and the United Nations.
Israel denied the accusations made by South Africa, and says that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is solely responsible for the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and claims that it is doing its best in the war to reduce damage to the civilian population.