South Africa outlines case that Israel has ‘genocidal intent’
Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, another lawyer in South Africa’s legal team, is now trying to show that Israel has acted with genocidal intent — something international law experts say is the hardest part to prove in such cases.
Ngcukaitobi is using public statements by Netanyahu and ministers in his coalition government, as well as videos shared by Israeli soldiers from the battlefield, which he says show this intent.
“Members of the Knesset have repeatedly called for Gaza to be wiped out, flatted, erased and crushed,” the South African lawyer said, referring to the Israeli parliament. “They have deplored anyone feeling sorry for the uninvolved Gazans,” saying that “the children of Gaza have brought this upon themselves, and that there should be one sentence for everyone there: death.”
The lawyer said attempts by Netanyahu and his ministers to downplay or explain these remarks have not lessened their impact or significance in the case. “Any suggestion that Israeli officials did not mean what they said … should be rejected by this court,” Ngcukaitobi said. “The reiteration and repetition of genocidal intent throughout every sphere of state in Israel” is not “out in the fringes” he added, it is “embodied in state policy.”
Only U.N. court can ‘stop the suffering,’ South Africa says
The South African legal team is now detailing its case alleging genocide against Israel, with senior counsel Adila Hassim imploring the judges to intervene to stop “suffering that has become unbearable to watch.”
She told the ICJ: “Genocides are never declared in advance, but this court has the benefit of the last 13 weeks of evidence that shows incontrovertibly a pattern of conduct and related intention that justifies a plausible claim of genocidal acts” by Israel.
“Every day there is mounting irreparable loss of life, property, dignity and humanity of the Palestinian people,” she said. “Nothing will stop the suffering except an order from this court.”
Israel will present its case tomorrow, and a ruling on whether the court will order Israel to halt its military operation is expected to take weeks. ICJ rulings are binding but the court has no powers to enforce them.
Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters gather outside ICJ
Demonstrators waving Palestinian and Israeli flags have braved freezing temperatures to gather outside the International Court of Justice, in the Dutch city of The Hague, where South Africa’s genocide case against Israel has begun.
South African minister quotes Mandela in defense of Palestinians
South Africa is bringing its genocide case against Israel as a way of “extending our hands across the miles to the people of Palestine,” South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said in his opening remarks to the ICJ.
He also quoted Nelson Mandela: “We are part of a humanity,” underscoring a perceived shared history between the Palestinian territories and South Africa, which was under apartheid and white minority rule until 1994.
Lamola said its case was a “commitment to the people of Palestine and Israelis alike” and said that this “did not begin on Oct 7” but that “Palestinians have experienced systematic violence for the past 76 years” — referring to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
As South Africa did in its 84-page legal filing ahead of the case, Lamola repeated that he “unequivocally condemns Hamas” for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and some 240 hostages seized.
Blinken arrives in Egypt as he wraps up his Middle East visit
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Cairo on the last day of his fourth trip to the region since the Oct. 7 attacks.
Blinken will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi before returning to Washington. Egypt has played a key role as a mediator in the conflict.
Blinken met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday as part of his latest diplomatic offensive in the region.
He told NBC News in an exclusive interview earlier this week that the U.S. has been pressing the Israelis to do “everything possible” to avoid civilian casualties amid a growing humanitarian crisis.
Court sets out South Africa’s case against Israel
The judges of the ICJ are laying out the central arguments of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. South Africa is alleging that Israel has breached the Genocide Convention of 1948 by:
- Killing Palestinians in Gaza “in large numbers”
- Trying to “bring about their destruction as a group”
- Carrying out their mass displacement
- Depriving them of food, water, medical care, shelter and sanitation
- Destroying “the life of the Palestinian people in Gaza”
- And imposing measures “intended to prevent Palestinian births”
Israel has vehemently denied all of these allegations, and will outline its defense tomorrow.
Israeli military reports ongoing fighting in central, southern Gaza
The Israeli military said this morning it was carrying out operations in central and southern Gaza, and has killed a number of what it said were “terrorist operatives” in those areas.
In the central Al-Maghazi area, the IDF said it identified what it called “an armed terrorist cell,” which included three “terrorists” armed with assault rifles. It said an aircraft “thwarted” them as they were exiting a tunnel shaft.
Eight “terrorist operatives” were killed by sniper fire in the area, it added.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, the IDF said it killed seven “terrorists” and struck “terrorist infrastructure” from which it said anti-tank missiles were fired at its troops.
NBC News could not verify the details of the report or who the targets described by the IDF were.
Genocide case against Israel begins at the ICJ
South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice alleging genocide against Israel has begun. The court’s judges filed into the ICJ’s wood-paneled Great Hall of Justice and declared the proceedings open.
South Africa will have three hours this to present its case, while Israel will defend itself for three hours Friday. It has denied the accusations and insists it works hard to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.
Netanyahu insists he has no plans to occupy Gaza
In a rebuke against right-wing members of his own coalition government, Israel’s prime minister has said his country has no plans to occupy Gaza and replace its Palestinian population.
The comments come after the U.S. and others criticized suggestions by some of Netanyahu’s ministers that Gazans should be “voluntarily” resettled in other countries to make way for Israelis. International law experts say that this would not be voluntary if Gaza is made unlivable, warning it could constitute a war crime.
Netanyahu spoke on the eve of Israel defending itself against accusations of genocide at the United Nations’ top court, the International Court of Justice.
“I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population,” Netanyahu said in an English-language video message released last night. “Our goal is to rid Gaza of Hamas terrorists and free our hostages,” he said. “Once this is achieved Gaza can be demilitarized and deradicalized, thereby creating a possibility for a better future for Israel and Palestinians alike.”
Florida welcomes students fleeing campus antisemitism, with little evidence that there’s demand
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week directed the state’s universities to make it easier for out-of-state students facing antisemitism and other religious harassment in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war to transfer to Florida campuses.
DeSantis’ directive on Tuesday piggybacks on blowback some Ivy League leaders have faced in response to how they’re handling antisemitism and anti-Israel protests on their campuses. The governor’s office said there has been an increase in inquiries about transferring, without providing any numbers to back that up.
“With leaders of so-called elite universities enabling antisemitic activities, rather than protecting their students from threats and harassment, it is understandable that many Jewish students are looking for alternatives and looking to Florida,” DeSantis, who is campaigning for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, said in a statement.
The order referred to all students facing religious harassment, and when asked if it included Muslims, Christians and others, a spokeswoman for the board governing Florida’s university systems said Wednesday it covers any student fearful of religious persecution following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. However, neither she nor the governor’s office said how many students had made inquiries about transferring.
Democratic state Sen. Lori Berman said she knows of Florida students at Harvard who are concerned about antisemitism on campus, but has also heard from a student at the University of South Florida in Tampa, adding that antisemitism is a problem in many places and DeSantis’ directive is doing little to prevent it.
“It’s kind of interesting that we’re offering our Florida schools when I’m not sure that our Florida schools are any different than what’s going on elsewhere in the nation,” said Berman, who is Jewish.
The lawmaker from South Florida also noted there have been Nazi and antisemitic demonstrations and activities in Florida that DeSantis has said little about.
Israel showing few signs of winding down war in Gaza
Israel is showing few signs of winding down the war against Hamas, whose leader in Gaza is still at large. NBC News traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, where a senior Hamas leader was killed in an Israeli drone strike. We spoke to a local store owner who was working next to the apartment that was targeted, saying he never saw anyone living there.
Catch up with NBC News’ latest coverage of the war
