TEL AVIV, Israel—Israel will defend itself before the United Nation’s top court against charges that it has engaged in genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, officials said Tuesday, a rare engagement with the world body, which Israel often denounces as biased against it.
South Africa launched the case Friday at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, saying the magnitude of death, destruction, and humanitarian crisis in Gaza from the Israeli military campaign against the Hamas terrorist group meets the threshold of genocide under international law. South Africa asked the court to order Israel to halt its attacks in Gaza.
Israel dismisses international cases against it as unfair and biased and rarely cooperates.
Eylon Levy, an official in the Israeli prime minister’s office, on Tuesday accused South Africa of “giving political and legal cover” to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that triggered Israel’s campaign.
“The state of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at the Hague to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the war until Hamas is crushed and the more than 100 hostages still held by the terrorist group in Gaza are freed, which he has said could take several more months.
But Israel is under growing international pressure to scale back the offensive ahead of a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has urged Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians. On Monday, Israel said it was withdrawing thousands of troops from other areas in a potential shift away from the massive air and ground operations.
Still, heavy fighting continued Tuesday in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
Israel’s War Cabinet was to meet later Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said. The agenda reportedly includes a discussion on postwar arrangements for Gaza.
Until now, Mr. Netanyahu has not presented any plan despite repeated U.S. requests. He has rejected proposals that the Palestinian Authority, which currently administers pockets of self-rule in the West Bank, undergo reforms and then take over the administration of Gaza as a precursor to Palestinian statehood.
