A political source on Wednesday referred to Israel's expected appearance at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to defend itself against South Africa's claims that it is committing genocide in Gaza. Despite the reports, the source says that Israeli representatives have not yet been appointed for the defense and that no contact has been made to attorney Alan Dershowitz.
According to the source, Israel decided not to boycott the ICC hearing after consultations. "It is clear to everyone that there is no dilemma and that we must appear before the court. There is no hesitation because at the moment we have no grievance against the court. It is obligated under the Convention that established it to hear a lawsuit filed against a State that is a signatory to the Convention Against Genocide."
"Israel proudly signed this charter so that the worst event that happened to the Jewish people will not happen again. The Convention states that the Court has no discretion and cannot refrain from deliberating. If we boycotted, they would ask us why. In principle and professionally, we must participate in the court's deliberations. If we had not participated, it is estimated that it would not have changed the fact and it would have taken place in the absence of protection. If there are unacceptable and unprofessional behaviors, then this question will be raised again, but at this time the decision was made to respect the process."
In the coming days, Israel will announce who it appointed to the process, including a judge who sat on its behalf at the hearings. According to Israel's preparations, temporary relief will be granted to the petitioners as early as January and is expected to include a demand either to stop the war or to provide unsupervised assistance, but these will not include sanctions against Israel. "We are responding to a process in which we can appoint a judge on our behalf to sit at all hearings, vote and participate." The source added: "We don't know how we will act if the court issues an order. This is a decision of the political echelon and we will consider all options."
According to the source, the prosecution will deal with an entire chapter of statements made by senior Israeli officials regarding the voluntary emigration of Gaza citizens. The source denied any actions being taken to promote such a solution, saying, "Israel is not negotiating with any country on voluntary immigration. We're not in the loop and haven't heard of it. Israel is not negotiating with anyone. It's fake." Asked about politicians' statements about countries willing to take in refugees from Gaza, he said: "Illusions are baseless. No country will accept Gazans. Not a million or 5000,<>."
The source also said the claims in the 84-page lawsuit were ridiculous. "Most of the claims are ridiculous, but there is a chapter there that deals with statements by Israeli politicians that ostensibly indicate a deviation from the rules used in warfare. Some of these politicians denied what they said or retracted what they said or did not participate in the decision-making, but this is part of the ammunition that the prosecution is using to show that Israeli policies violate the genocide convention."
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