Israel said South Africa presented a "deeply distorted factual and legal picture" to the UN's top court at the start of the second and final day of hearings in the genocide case against Israel, CNN reported.
"Her entire case is based on a deliberately falsified, decontextualized and manipulative description of the reality of the current hostilities," said Tal Becker, one of the lawyers representing Israel, in his opening remarks at the International Court of Justice.
Becker said Israel is "extremely aware" of the reasons why the Genocide Convention was adopted. "The systematic murder of six million Jews is etched in our collective memory as part of a premeditated and heinous program for their total annihilation," he said.
The Israeli respondent argued that the Convention should not have been invoked in this case.
"The Genocide Convention was not created to deal with the brutal impact of intense hostilities on civilian populations," he argued. Instead, it was intended "to deal with a malicious crime of the most exceptional gravity".
The lawyer criticized South Africa for "weaponizing" the term "genocide" against Israel, adding that "we live in a time where words are cheap".
"The attempt to use the term genocide against Israel in the present context not only tells the court a grossly distorted story, but also deprives the word of its unique power and special meaning. It undermines the object and purpose of the Convention itself, which has implications for all States, who are trying to defend themselves against those who demonstrate a complete disregard for life and the law," he said.
During the ICJ hearing, Israel described the accusation of genocide made against it by South Africa as "slander".
"I respectfully submit that the petition and motion should be dismissed for what it is: a defamation designed to deprive Israel of its right to defend itself under the law against the unprecedented terrorist attack it continues to face, and to release the 136 hostages that Hamas is still holding," commented Tal Becker.
Israeli officials have called South Africa's accusation of genocide a "blood libel" that is a thinly veiled accusation of anti-Semitism.
"What Israel seeks by acting in Gaza is not to destroy a people, but to protect a people, its people, who are being attacked on multiple fronts," the Israeli lawyer pointed out, adding that Israel is fighting terrorists on Hamas, not with the civilian population.
He confirmed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments that Israel does not seek a "permanent occupation of Gaza or the displacement of its civilian population."
In the course of the case, Israel shared multimedia, audio and written evidence of atrocities committed by Hamas militants on October 7 during a hearing at the UN's highest court, arguing that if genocidal acts were committed, "they were committed against Israel".
"We are not doing this because these actions, as sadistic and systematic as they are, absolve Israel of its obligations to uphold the law while protecting its citizens and territory, that is indisputable," Becker said. "We do so because it is impossible to understand the armed conflict in Gaza without appreciating the nature of the threat facing our country and the brutality and lawlessness of the armed forces confronting it."
Becker argued that Hamas's actions on October 7 were genocidal in nature and provided evidence of the "proudly proclaimed program of extermination" of Hamas leaders.
"The annihilationist language of Hamas' statutes is regularly repeated by its leaders, with the goal, in the words of one member of the Hamas politburo, of 'cleansing Palestine of the filth of the Jews,'" the Israeli defendant added.
"If there were acts that could be defined as genocide, they were committed against Israel," he said.
The court was shown a video of an interview shortly after October 7 in which Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas leader, told a Lebanese television channel: "We will do this again and again." He stated that the attack was "only the first time and there will be a second, third, fourth".
Becker argued that South Africa's requested interim measures, by which the court would order Israel to suspend its military operations, would deprive the state of the ability to "fulfill its obligations to protect its citizens, the hostages and over 110,000 internally displaced Israelis , who cannot safely return to their homes.
"Israel has the fundamental right" to take all legitimate measures to protect its citizens, he added.
Israel has said it is taking steps to minimize civilian casualties during its air and ground attacks on Gaza, and stressed that its military complies with international humanitarian law.
Article 51 of the UN Charter, which governs the use of force, gives states the right to self-defense, provided the force they use is necessary and proportionate. Proportionality does not mean symmetry. It means that the defending state cannot use more force than is necessary to meet the threat.
Under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), all states must minimize civilian casualties. Deliberately directing attacks against civilians is always illegal, but an attack that accidentally kills civilians can be legal if it achieves a military objective, provided the harm caused to civilians is not "excessive" compared to the expected military advantage. /BGNES
