ANGRY ISRAEL REJECTS ACCUSATIONS OF GENOCIDE BY SOUTH AFRICA

Israel rejected the case as baseless’, insisting that its forces are operating in Gaza according to law

- JOHN DOBSON

To accuse any country of genocide is a serious matter. But to accuse Israel, a country largely founded on the guilt of Hitler's attempted genocide of Jews when more than 6 million were murdered, is not only extremely serious, it's also unprecedented and not without an element of irony.

On Thursday, Israel faced down accusations under the United Nations' Genocide Convention, drawn up after WWII following the atrocities committed against the Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Two weeks ago, South Africa filed the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of crimes of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Pretoria claimed that Israel's conduct, after three months of relentless bombardment which has resulted in widespread death and destruction in the besieged enclave, violates the UN's Geneva Convention. In calling for an expedited hearing, South Africa requested the court to indicate provisional measures to "protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people" under the convention.

A furious Israel immediately rejected the case as "baseless", insisting that its forces are operating in Gaza according to International Law. Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat writing on X said "Israel rejects with disgust the blood libel spread by South Africa and its application to the ICJ". "Blood libel", a thinly veiled accusation of anti-Semitism, is a reference to ancient conspiracies against Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also insisted that Israel had displayed "unparalleled morality" in the Gaza war as he, too, dismissed South Africa's charge.