Isaac Herzog A figurehead seen as an apologist for brutal war in Gaza

A few months into Israel's brutal campaign in Gaza, international court of justice judges sat down to write their reply to South Africa's complaint that Israel was pursuing genocide.

- Peter Beaumont

Published on 26 January 2024, the order issued by the court called for provisional measures on Israel, ruling that Palestinians in Gaza had "plausible rights to protection from genocide" - rights the court suggested were at a real risk of irreparable damage.

Supporting that ruling, the judges listed statements made by senior Israeli officials, underpinning the claim by Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN's main Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, that the crisis in Gaza was being "compounded by dehumanising language".

Second in that list of statements was a comment made by Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, in which he asserted that all Palestinians in Gaza were responsible for the Hamas attack on southern Israel on 7 October.

"It is an entire [Palestinian] nation out there that is responsible," said Herzog. "It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved."

Herzog, who is due in London next week for talks with UK ministers, would claim that his statement was misrepresented by the ICJ in selectively quoting him. It had ignored remarks, he said, in which he added that Israel was "acting in accordance with international law" - a claim contradicted by credible evidence to the contrary on multiple occasions, including the statement from the International Association of Genocide Scholars this week that Israel is committing genocide.