Israel has charged South Africa with misrepresenting the statements of its leaders to assert genocidal intent in its military operations in Gaza.
In its presentation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Friday, Israel claimed that South Africa had engaged the court to benefit the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.
South Africa has requested that the court halt Israel’s military operations in the city of Rafah, where thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter from the conflict.
The government must submit written responses by Monday to Israel’s claim, in which it accused South Africa of misusing court processes and asking it to “micromanage” a war.
On Thursday, South African attorney Tembeka Ngcukatoibi informed the world’s highest court that Israel had, over the past seven months, demonstrated genocidal intent against Palestinians in Gaza.
“Rafah is the final stand. Without Rafah, there is no more Palestinian life in Gaza to speak of. No more Palestinian identity and no possibility of reconstruction.”
However, on Friday, Israel argued that South Africa’s depiction was a distortion of reality and disconnected from the facts.
Israel’s foreign ministry legal advisor, Tamar Kaplan Tourgeman, told the court that South Africa’s filing was merely showboating and rhetoric.
“It will have you say that a sovereign state that is under a persistent attack, whose citizens are held hostage, is not allowed to defend itself or its citizens.”
After Israel’s concluding statements, Judge Georg Nolte inquired about the humanitarian conditions in the evacuation zones in Gaza.
The court is awaiting a written response to this inquiry by noon on Saturday.
The court announced it would issue its decision on these latest requests for provisional measures during a public session on a yet-to-be-determined date.
South Africa has until late October to submit its memorial in the primary genocide case against Israel.
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