The Israeli defense team is currently at a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and will respond to South Africa's claims. The hearing will last about three hours, during which Prof. Malcolm Shaw, Deputy Attorney General Dr. Gil-Ad Noam and Foreign Ministry Attorney General Dr. Tal Becker will have to push back against the elements of intention and action.
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One of South Africa's representatives in The Hague, photo: AP
The order of speakers in the Israeli legal team: Dr. Tal Becker will speak first, followed by Professor Malcolm Shaw, then Dr. Galit Rajwan, Dr. Omri Sander, Dr. Christopher Steiker and finally Dr. Gil-Ad Noam.
Representatives of the families of the abductees at the ICC in The Hague, photo: AP
In contrast to the practice in Israel, the hearing is characterized by arguments' speeches without questions or difficulties on the part of the judges, so that the important and decisive stage is not in the courtroom, but in the discussion between the judges behind the scenes.
Former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak at the court in The Hague, photo: UN Photo/ICJ-CIJ/ Frank van Beek
Yuval Kaplinsky, former head of the International Department at the State Prosecutor's Office, explained: "It is precisely at this stage that Justice Aharon Barak was chosen, hoping that in these closed hearings he will present to his colleagues from his experience as Attorney General and as a judge in the Israeli Supreme Court how Israel deals with complex decisions on issues of war, and especially how Israel also deals in the legal field with situations in which hitting legitimate targets of terrorist organizations endangers unarmed civilians."
Israeli demonstration outside the ICC in The Hague, photo: AP
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