A Spectacular Failure for South Africa at the International Court of Justice last Friday when its key objective in the case against Israel did not materialize: To get a ceasefire for Hamas in Gaza.
Another thing that happened last week that decidedly is not to South Africa – or Hamas’s – liking: The world court called for the immediate and unconditional release of Israeli hostages – something that South Africa omitted in its case documents.
In short: 1) The court did noy order Israel to suspend the war in Gaza; and 2) Did not rule that Israel was committing genocide.
After the ruling was announced, the South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor bluntly told a press conference outside the court building at The Hague she was “disappointed” the court did not impose a ceasefire.
South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor [center-left] at The Hague where she said she is “disappointed” the world court did not call for a ceasefire.
And by not ordering a ceasefire, the International Court of Justice has implicitly recognized a state’s right to defend itself and its citizens against a terror group. Israel, like all states, has a duty to defend its land and people, try to rescue its abducted citizens, and retaliate within the limits of international law against terrorists who launched an unprovoked war.
The International Court of Justice has done the right thing by not asking for a ceasefire. Such a request could have placed unnecessary limits on the right of states to act against terror groups that commit brutalities and then use the innocent as human shields. Israel is trying to minimize civilian victims. Hamas is not.
But There Is A Propaganda Value in the case, and we saw that in the triumphant statements coming out of Iran and a few others celebrating the court’s ruling as a pressure tactic against Israel. The president of South Africa went as far as organizing a watch party where he and the Palestinian ambassador went into a dramatic warm hug on national television as soon as the ruling was announced—and that was before his foreign minister told the media she was disappointed at the ruling.
Credit Goes To Israel’s Legal Team that dismantled South Africa’s case from the start. For example, Dr. Tal Becker, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ legal advisor – and an internationally acclaimed expert on genocide, in contrast to the politically motivated team that South Africa assembled – methodically chipped away at the case, calling it “decontextualized” and “manipulative.” He said that while Israel obeys the laws of war, those very laws contemplate that war necessarily involves civilian casualties. Hamas, he said, exacerbated such suffering by placing its fighters and supplies in civilian areas and facilities, converting them to legitimate targets.
Israel Respects International Law And Institutions and it proved this by taking the unprecedented step of declassifying more than 30 secret orders made by Israeli government and military leaders that show Israeli efforts to diminish deaths among Palestinian civilians. These orders were submitted to the court.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a TV address reiterated Israel’s respect for the international law:
“Israel’s commitment to international law is unwavering. Equally unwavering is our sacred commitment to continue to defend our country and defend our people. Like every country, Israel has an inherent right to defend itself.
The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected.”
However, this is not a celebration, and we cannot let our guard down. We are aware that the case itself aims at damaging Israel’s standing in global public opinion as the Israeli military conducts complex combat operations against a terror organization that uses an entire population as human shields.
There is no question that genocide allegations against Israel are unfounded, and that Israel has done more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza than Hamas has. And the record of Palestinian leaders in endangering the lives of their people is well documented, and the latest is how Hamas used Palestinian U.N. workers in Gaza as part of its attack group that invaded Israel on Oct. 7. [See our press release on this disturbing story].
DANIEL ROSEN
President, American Jewish Congress
