THE HAGUE — On Thursday, South Africa’s Justice Minister, Ronald Lamola, asserted at the International Court of Justice that Palestinians have suffered at the hands of Israel since 1948 during a two-day hearing at the ICJ in its genocide case against Israel.
اضافة اعلان
“The violence and the destruction in Palestine did not begin on October 7; they have experienced violence for the last 76 years,” Lamola said.
“In the Gaza Strip since 2004, Israel has exercised control over land crossings and civilian infrastructure. Entry and exit to Gaza are strictly prohibited, with Israel operating the only entry points,” he said. However, as the enclave also shares a land crossing with Egypt, “Gaza is still considered to be under occupation by international law,” he added.
“South Africa unilaterally condemned the targeting of civilians by Hamas and the taking of hostages on October 7, 2023,” he said. “That said, no attack, however serious, can justify breaches to the convention whether as a matter of law or morality.”
“Israel has crossed this line and breached the [genocide] convention,” he told the judges. “This is why South Africa has filed this case.”
Lamola concluded by invoking Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement that the moral arc of the universe is long but bends towards justice.
South Africa presented a complaint to the World Court in The Hague, asserting that Israel is guilty of ‘genocide’ in the war against Hamas after the group’s October 7 attack. A day before, the US claimed that genocide accusations were.
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