Israel Expected at UN Court to Answer to Accusations of Genocide

By Xinhua 

January 2, 2024

Israel decided to appear at the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Hague, the Netherlands, in the hearing of the case filed by South Africa alleging “genocidal” acts in Gaza, Israeli news website Ynet reported Monday evening.

“Israel has signed the convention against genocide for decades, and we will certainly not boycott the proceeding, but stand up and repel the absurd blood plot against us,” Israel’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told the website.

According to the report, the decision was preceded by intensive discussions in Israel by senior officials led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The case, filed on Friday, claims “alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide concerning Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” according to the ICJ.

South Africa urged the UN court to take “provisional measures” to “protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention.”