The State of Israel has denied claims by South Africa that were upheld by the International Court of Justice on Friday accusing the Jewish State of putting Gaza’s civilian population at risk for genocide.
Tzachi Hanegbi, head of Israel’s National Security Council, and a spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a joint statement calling charges of genocide brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, “false, outrageous and morally repugnant.”
The statement said that after the October 7, 2023 massacre of some 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals during the invasion by thousands of Hamas-led terrorists from Gaza, “Israel embarked upon a defensive and just war to eliminate Hamas and to secure the release of our hostages. Israel is acting based on its right to defend its territory and its citizens, consistent with its moral values and in compliance with international law, including international humanitarian law.”
According to the statement, “Israel has not and will not conduct military actions in the Rafah area which may inflict on the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.
“Israel will continue its efforts to enable humanitarian assistance and will act, in full compliance with the law, to reduce as much as possible harm caused to the civilian population in Gaza.”
In the statement, Israel pledged to “continue to enable the Rafah crossing to remain open for the entry of humanitarian assistance from the Egyptian side of the border, and will prevent terror groups from controlling the passage.”
However, Egypt has refused to open the Rafah crossing until the Gaza side is controlled by Palestinian Authority officials, not Israeli personnel. For obvious reasons, the IDF has declined to relinquish control of the area to those committed to Israel’s destruction.
