Israel has refuted South African claims at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in its war in the Gaza Strip and called drawing similarities with Russia's war in Ukraine "absurd."
Lawyers for Israel argued on January 12 that the country is doing what it can to limit the civilian impact of its battle against Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, and that Hamas and its warfare tactics are to blame for a rising death toll among the population.
As part of its case urging the court to order a provisional halt to the hostilities, touched off by a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 that killed some 1,200 civilians in Israel, South Africa has pointed to a March 2022 ruling it made calling on Russia to halt its military operations against Ukraine.
South Africa, which accused Israel of committing "systematic" acts of genocide in the conflict, is asking the court to hand down an emergency ruling to protect Palestinians in Gaza from further harm by Israel's war against Hamas. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed in the campaign, the majority of whom were women and children.
But Christopher Staker, a British lawyer arguing on behalf of Israel, said the argument that the ICJ's ruling against Russia set precedent was wrong as in that case, the court found doubtful Russian claims that its military operation was to prevent and punish genocide being committed in Ukraine.
"In this case, Israel does not rely on the genocide convention or prevention of genocide to justify its operations," he said.
"In the Russia case, a suspension of military operations might have been necessary to preserve a right not to be subjected to military operations. But in this case, the right in issue is South Africa's claimed right to ensure observance of the genocide convention. It's absurd to suggest that the only way to ensure observance of the genocide convention in a military operation is to prevent the operation from being conducted at all."
Speaking on the second day of the proceedings, Tal Becker, legal adviser to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, used similar language in calling South Africa's claims "unfounded" and "absurd."
"Israel is at war with Hamas not the Palestinian people," he told the panel of judges.
South Africa's heading up of the case has put a spotlight on its long-standing support of Palestinian rights, with even Nelson Mandela once saying that his country's freedom would be "incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians."
The Netherlands-based court is expected to rule later this month on South Africa's request for emergency measures for Israel to halt its operations in Gaza, but a decision on the allegations of genocide, legal experts say, could take years.
Decisions by the ICJ cannot be appealed, but the court itself has no means of enforcing its rulings.
Analysts have previously noted that the ICJ's order for Russia to halt its military operations had no effect.