The Foreign Ministry responded Thursday to South African prosecutors' claims at the start of the hearings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague: "South Africa, which serves as the legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organization, has misrepresented the reality in Gaza since the October 7 massacre, ignoring the fact that Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, murdered, executed, massacred, raped and kidnapped Israeli civilians, just because they were Israelis, in an attempt to commit genocide." The Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
They added: "South Africa wishes to allow Hamas to resume committing the war crimes, crimes against humanity and sexual crimes that it committed on October 136 again and again, as declared by its leaders.Hamas representatives on the court, South African lawyers, also ignore the fact that Hamas uses Gaza's civilian population as human shields and operates from hospitals, schools, UN shelters, mosques and churches with the intention of endangering the lives of Gaza residents. <> abductees are in the hands of Hamas terrorists without access to Red Cross representatives and medical care."
Israeli demonstration outside the ICC in The Hague, photo: AP
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, "Although the lawsuit was technically filed by South Africa, it is a full initiative and total support of the Palestinian Authority, and there are those who are still pressuring me to transfer the Gaza funds to them. They lead us to the executioner, and there are those who think it makes sense for us to pay them for it."
"They are leading us to the thilan", Minister of Finance Smotrich, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Smotrich also wrote: "The ICC, like the other international tribunals, are political bodies tainted with anti-Semitism and exposed time after time in amazing displays of hypocrisy. The only ones who need to be put on trial in The Hague and everywhere are the Nazi Hamas terrorists who carried out the horrific massacre against Israeli citizens. As far as the "enlightened world" is concerned, we are all settlers and "war criminals." Residents of Tel Aviv and Kedumim those who vote right and those who vote left."
The Movement to Combat Anti-Semitism added: "The case against Israel at the International Criminal Court in The Hague is like accusing the Allies of World War II of committing genocide by the Nazis. By taking Israel to The Hague, South Africa is not only trying to defame Israel, it is actually disrespecting and lowering the status of an important international institution, proving that The Hague has only become just another political weapon in the international arena."
Peace Palace in The Hague, seat of the Court of Justice, photo: AP
Today, the International Court of Justice in The Hague began hearing South Africa's blood libel, according to which Israel is committing "genocide" in Gaza. The 15 judges from around the world were joined by Justice Aharon Barak and a South African judge. Among the claims made by the prosecution team: "Israel deliberately imposed conditions on Gaza that make life impossible and intended to lead to destruction" and "Israel deliberately kills civilians and babies in Gaza."
Participating in the preparation of this article: Netael Bandel, Ariel Kahane and Shirit Avitan Cohen
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