South Africa has invoked the Genocide Convention against Israel over Gaza

[HeidiInTheBigCity]

The entire filing is 84 pages long and, frankly, took me several hours to read - it's well worth the effort, though, in that it is rather (painfully at times) clinical and devastating in equal measure: https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf

Go, South Africa!

It might not male that much of a difference in the short term - but: to see the former victims of Apartheid take the lead on the world stage, and offer support (the way they - after multiple decades of campaigning and pressure ... it's not as though world leaders hated Apartheid South Africa "by default") is just ... a little spark of light within the darkness!

In the next segment of its presentation in The Hague, South Africa is presenting what it describes as evidence of the genocidal intent of the Israeli authorities.

In doing so it has quoted directly several Israeli leaders, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Israeli president Isaac Herzog.

It referenced Netanyahu citing the biblical story of the Amalek people, and this language being echoed by troops on the ground.

It cited Gallant’s comment that Israel was fighting “human animals”, and that there would be “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel” in Gaza. It quoted him telling troops that there were no restraints and that “we will eliminate everything, we will reach all places.”

South Africa’s legal team said “the language of systematic dehumanisation is evident here. Human animals. Both Hamas and civilians are condemned within the Israeli cabinet.”

It also cited the a deputy speaker of the Knesset calling for the erasure of the Gaza Strip from the face of the earth, arguing that even if they were not a member of the government, they were a lawmaker whose votes in the Knesset shaped the policies of the Israeli state.

A video clip was shown of Israeli soldiers dancing and singing about the destruction of Gaza during the operation inside the territory.

This was the video of the soldiers singing which had genocidal intent that was just shown

Closing that segment of its presentation, South Africa’s legal team in The Hague said that states seldom announce genocidal intentions in advance, but it said this case was unique precisely because, instead of silence, multiple senior leaders in Israel with influence and direction over the armed forces had expressed their desire for Gaza and the Palestinian people to be destroyed in the aftermath of the 7 October Hamas attack, without distinguishing between combatants and civilians.

The next segment of the presentation has been a somewhat technical presentation about the question of jurisdiction. There have been lengthy passages about the exchanges of communication between South Africa and Israel leading up to the court case.

As part of the presentation, the legal team noted that both South Africa and Israel have a history of suffering, and that is why they both became signatories to the genocide convention.

The court has adjourned for a ten minute break.

@Parkingt111
I had not seen that video. Sickening. Thank you and thank you to @Efacsen for following the hearing and posting a record of it here.

I’m at work so can’t really watch TV. I sneak peeks here so very thankful posters are updating the thread.

Sadly that video is nowhere near the worst of it, but I agree that yes it is sickening

Tomorrow's hearing will be interesting. I'm not sure how you can justify the unjustifiable and deny the undeniable.

The court in The Hague has resumed, with South Africa continuing to present its case against Israel, claiming it has been committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has dismissed the case as “baseless”.

You can watch a video stream in this blog – you may have to refresh the page for the play button to appear. We will bring you any key lines that emerge.

The next segment is about establishing which Palestinian rights South Africa says Israel is violating. It has opened:

''Palestinians in Gaza as a very substantial and important part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group [and] are entitled to exist.

What is happening in Gaza now is not correctly framed as a simple conflict between two parties.

It entails, instead, destructive acts perpetrated by an occupying power, Israel, that is subjecting the Palestinian people to an oppressive and prolonged violation of their rights to self determination for more than half a century.

And those violations occur in a world where Israel for years has regarded itself as beyond and above the law.''

It will be a performance for the ages, as we've been witnessing for the last 3 months. Never forget IDF Calendar guy who blatantly said that an Arabic calendar found in a Hospital was actually a Hamas hostage rota.

https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/truth-or-fake/20231116-idf-claims-to-find-list-of-hamas-names-but-it-s-the-days-of-the-week-in-arabic

Thank very much for posting this, Efacsen. It is very much appreciated.

In the latest segment of its presentation at the ICJ in The Hague, South Africa has made a statement which perhaps gives some insight into how they think Israel will approach mounting its defence presentation in tomorrow’s session.
Saying that it was not using much in the way of audio/visual presentation, South Africa’s legal team said:
In the speeches to this court today, South Africa has chosen as you’ve heard, to avoid the sharing of graphic videos and photos. It has decided against turning this court into a theatre for spectacle. It knows as well as your excellencies the temptation for both sides in a dispute to parade pictures to shock.
South Africa’s application in this court today is built on a foundation of clear legal rights, not images, and the detailed material before the court is marshalled to show a case for provisional measures based firmly on this court’s prior decisions.
South Africa advances its case on the basis that Palestinian’s rights are equally as worthy of protection on the unprecedented evidence before you as those of the victim groups that this honourable court has previously protected by its issuance of provisional measures in the past.
The material confirms the rights and their violation that Israel has committed, and is committing, acts capable of being characterised as genocidal.
You have heard from us about the direct extermination of thousands of people and children of the Palestinian population in Gaza since 7 October last year.
And South Africa and the world together stand witness to the forced evacuation of over 85% of the population of Gaza from their homes, and the herding of them into ever smaller areas without adequate shelter or medical care, to be attacked, killed and harmed.
So the rights are immediately and urgently in need of protection because of the ongoing denial by Israel of the conditions necessary for life.

Setting the South African presentation aside from “parading pictures to shock” and becoming a “theatre for spectacle” suggests they may be anticipating that Israel’s presentation will have a focus on graphic images of the atrocities committed on 7 October, and on pictures and footage of the Hamas equipment that the IDF claims to have unearthed inside Gaza next to or in civilian facilities.

I believe they clearly stated that was the plan.

"This picture of a whiteboard from a hospital in northern Gaza was shown at the ICJ. The message was written by Dr Mahmoud Abu Nujaila, a Doctors Without Borders medic, who was killed a month later. Another photo was shown of the crumpled board post-bombing"

The poor doctor who wrote this is now dead

Who would openly admit to genocide. Their intent is clear as day.

www.instagram.com/reel/C19OiaJAwxi/?igsh=MWFwYzQxd2tjanFtZA==

The South African team did excellently today and really brought the receipts.

I'm listening to a Palestinian speaking right now he has just said
"For the first time I feel hope, that Palestinians are seen as human, we are not being treated as just a number. Thank you for everyone who hasn't stopped talking about Palestine. Now the world sees us"

Some figures mentioned in court today
On average the Palestinians killed or at risk of being killed each day is 247
that includes: 48 mothers and 117 children each day

Another lawyer stated "Israel's genocidal assault on the population in Gaza has led to the need of a new acronym:
WCNSF- wounded child, no surviving family.

Whatever the outcome, well done and thank you to South Africa. It’s reassuring to see them stand up for the rights of people who haven’t being given the privilege of doing this for themselves.
I feel like tomorrow is going to be a circus.

🍿

@PeasfullPerson yes definitely! Well done and I'm glad someone has had the courage to do so

South Africa has chosen as you’ve heard, to avoid the sharing of graphic videos and photos. It has decided against turning this court into a theatre for spectacle. It knows as well as your excellencies the temptation for both sides in a dispute to parade pictures to shock

I think this was the right approach. I've found the graphic descriptions and pictures of how Hamas' victims have been treated disrespectful in the extreme. They should be allowed to rest in peace and families grieve the person they were, not constantly be reminded of the manner if their death.

Well, on that front: seems there will be no 50 minutes horror video tomorrow - that request was apparently not granted by the court.

I think this was the right approach. I've found the graphic descriptions and pictures of how Hamas' victims have been treated disrespectful in the extreme. They should be allowed to rest in peace and families grieve the person they were, not constantly be reminded of the manner if their death.

How do you reconcile that, though, with the massive stream of very very graphic images and videos from Gaza, many of which have been shared on MN? Are you critical of those too?

Well, on that front: seems there will be no 50 minutes horror video tomorrow

This is a very disrespectful way to refer to the footage. It was also only put together and screened because of the mass propaganda, denial and disbelief in the aftermath of the atrocity, and moreoever it has been edited somewhat to spare dignity - unlike much of the footage from Gaza.