MOSCOW, December 31 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused South Africa is “cowardly” and lying for filing a lawsuit against Tel Aviv alleging genocide, claiming that the Israeli army is the most “moral” in the world.
South Africa filed a case against Israel under the genocide convention on Friday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague over the situation in the Gaza Strip, calling on the court to take interim measures against the Israeli authorities. South Africa pointed out that Israel's actions against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip constitute a «violation of obligations under the Genocide Convention.»
In a video published by the press service, Netanyahu comments on the “false accusations of South Africa.”
«No, South Africa, we did not come to commit genocide, but Hamas. They would kill us all if they could. On the other hand, the IDF acts in the most moral way — it does everything to avoid harm to the civilian population, and Hamas does everything so that we strike at them, using them as human shields,» Netanyahu said.
The Prime Minister questioned where South Africa and other countries were «slandering» Israel when «millions» of people were being killed in Syria, Yemen and other countries, noting that «they were not there.»
“Everything you are doing now is absurdity, lies and cowardice,” Netanyahu concluded. He promised to continue the “defensive” war, “which is more just and moral.” The prime minister's press service included the comment «South Africa, are you serious?» when it was published on the Telegram channel.
On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. After this, the organization’s fighters entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. In Israel, according to the latest data from the authorities, about 1.2 thousand people were killed, this number includes civilians, soldiers, foreign citizens and workers, and it was also reported that more than 5 thousand were injured.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped. At the end of October, the ground phase of the Israeli operation in the enclave began. Gaza City was surrounded by Israeli ground forces, and the enclave was effectively divided into southern and northern parts.
According to the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian enclave, the death toll in Gaza since October 7 has exceeded 21 thousand people, more than 55 thousand were injured.
Hamas claimed that there were about 200-250 hostages in the Gaza Strip. After the end of the truce, Israeli authorities announced that 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners remained hostage with Hamas, and 110 abducted were released.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and clashes in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created.