00:00 The attempt to weaponize the term genocide against Israel in the present context does
00:08 more than tell the court a grossly distorted story.
00:13 And it does more than empty the word of its unique force and special meaning.
00:20 It subverts the object and purpose of the Convention itself, with ramifications for
00:26 all states seeking to defend themselves against those who demonstrate total disdain for life
00:34 and for the law.
00:35 If there is a concern about the obligations of states under the Genocide Convention, then
00:40 it is in relation to their responsibilities to act against Hamas's proudly declared
00:47 agenda of annihilation, which is not a secret and is not in doubt.
00:54 The annihilatist language of Hamas's charter is repeated regularly by its leaders, with
01:00 the goal, in the words of one member of Hamas's political bureau, of the cleansing of Palestine
01:07 of the filth of the Jews.
01:10 Given that on October 7th, before any military response by Israel, South Africa issued an
01:16 official statement blaming Israel for "the recent conflagration", essentially blaming
01:24 Israel for the murder of its own citizens, one wonders whether the applicant agrees.
01:31 The court is told of over 23,000 casualties.
01:35 As the applicant repeats, as many have, unverified statistics provided by Hamas itself, hardly
01:43 a reliable source.
01:46 Every civilian casualty in this conflict is a human tragedy that demands our compassion.
01:54 But the court is not told how many thousands of casualties are in fact militants, how many
02:01 were killed by Hamas fire, how many were civilians taking direct part in hostilities, and just
02:08 how many are the result of legitimate and proportionate use of force against military
02:14 targets, even if tragic.
02:17 It is plainly inconceivable, under the terms set by this very court, that a state conducting
02:24 itself in this way, in these circumstances, may be said to be engaged in genocide, not
02:32 even prima facie.
02:34 The key component of genocide, the intention to destroy a people, in whole or in part,
02:41 is totally lacking.
02:44 What Israel seeks by operating in Gaza is not to destroy a people, but to protect a
02:50 people, its people, who are under attack on multiple fronts, and to do so in accordance
02:58 with the law, even as it faces a heartless enemy determined to use that very commitment
03:04 against it.
03:05 Today we have heard Israel's purported justification before the ICJ.
03:13 Some of the points made are astonishing and are not backed by facts and the situation
03:18 on the ground.
03:19 Israel suggests that a genocide convention is primary for their protection, and because
03:26 of that, is not capable of violating its own provisions.
03:31 The state of Israel today has failed to disprove South Africa's compelling case that was presented
03:38 before the court yesterday.
03:40 We stand by the facts, the law, and all the evidence we have submitted yesterday, and
03:47 we believe and stand very confident that those facts, the law, still are in violation of
03:56 the genocide convention.
03:57 No matter what some individual within the group of Palestine and Gaza may have done,
04:03 and no matter how great the threat to Israel's citizens might be, genocidal attacks on the
04:09 whole of Gaza and the whole of its population with the intent of destroying them cannot
04:15 be justified at all.
04:17 We remain confident that we have presented a compelling case, forensically detailed by
04:24 our lawyers, and the state of Israel has dismally failed today, except to say that certain words
04:32 were rhetoric and certain actions can be minimized by the fact that they've allowed humanitarian
04:40 aid.
04:41 We all know there was no such.
04:42 The organs of the UN have stated as such, and it's not South Africa saying this, no,
04:48 anyone.
04:49 The UN says they can't provide humanitarian aid because of the ongoing bombings.
04:56 So we remain confident that the court has compelling effects from South Africa, and
05:03 the law is on our side.
05:05 This is not the revenge from South Africa against Israel.
05:09 We are standing on the principle that any apartheid state anywhere in the world has
05:14 been declared as a crime against humanity.
05:17 So it will never be allowed to happen anywhere, and that is a UN convention.
05:23 So we are here to protect the rights of the people of Palestine and Gaza.
Comments