UN top court hears genocide allegation against Israel

Israeli sympathisers at a demonstration during the hearing

The United Nations' top court opened hearings Thursday into South Africa's allegation that Israel's war with Hamas amounts to genocide against Palestinians, a claim that Israel has strongly denied. South Africa is initially asking the International Court of Justice to order an immediate suspension of Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip as part of a case that is likely to take years to resolve.

A protestor holds a Palestinian flag during a demonstration. Pics/AP

The dispute strikes at the heart of Israel's national identity as a Jewish state created in the aftermath of the Nazi genocide in the Holocaust. It also involves South Africa's identity: Its governing party, the African National Congress, has long compared Israel's policies in Gaza and the West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to "homelands" before ending in 1994.

Gaza City's 17th century Qasr al-Basha damaged in an airstrike; Pic/AP

In freezing early-morning temperatures, pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators began gathering outside the court as Dutch police looked on. A group of Israeli supporters was planning to march through The Hague to the court. Although it normally considers UN and international tribunals unfair and biased, Israel has sent a strong legal team to defend its military operation launched in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.

A Palestinian man rushes an injured child for medical aid as others lay injured in the street

"I think they have come because they want to be exonerated and think they can successfully resist the accusation of genocide," said Juliette McIntyre, an expert on international law at the University of South Australia. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video statement Wednesday night defending his country's actions. "Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population," he said. "Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law."

1994
Year South Africa held its first non-racial elections

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