1 of 1 Tal Becker, Israel's foreign affairs representative, appears at the designated place for the country at the International Court of Justice on January 12, 2024 Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen/Portal Israel's foreign affairs representative Tal Becker appears seated on January 12. January 2024 in front of the International Court of Justice for the country Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen/Portal
The Israeli government classified the allegations made by South Africa before the International Court of Justice as “grossly distorted”.
At the meeting this Friday, Israel's lawyers said that the Attacks on Gaza are an act of selfdefense.
“If there were acts of genocide, they were committed against Israel. Hamas seeks genocide against Israel,” Tal Becker, legal adviser to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, told the court. “Israel is in a defensive war against Hamas, not against the Palestinian people. The key component of genocide, the intent to destroy a people in whole or in part, is completely missing.”
The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Suppression of the Crime of Genocide of the United Nations (UN), classifies genocide as any act “committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”.
After this week's hearings, the Hague court is expected to decide by the end of January whether Israel should temporarily halt military action in Gaza. In this case, it is up to the UN Security Council to decide on the application of the provision.
It could take years for a court to decide whether Israel committed genocide or not.
The following day, the Israeli embassy in Brasília stated that Brazil must take into account that, according to the UN definition of genocide, intent is the main thing and that Israel has no intention of killing Palestinians not involved in the conflict that Hamas citizens used as human shields.