Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » The Hague

Israel reiterates ‘most moral army’ claim in its defense at ICJ

Shaw said this even as the Israeli Occupation Army (IOF) killed close to 24,000 Palestinians – over 70 percent of them women and children, in Gaza Strip. Read More

Saturday January 13, 2024 3:21 PM , ummid.com with inputs from Agencies

[British lawyer and academic Malcolm Shaw KC is leading the Israeli defense at the UN Court.]

The Hague (The Netherlands): Israel on Friday January 12, 2024 while defending itself at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague in Netherlands reiterated its oft-repeated claim of having “the most moral army” in the world.

“The Israeli military is the most moral army and does everything to avoid the killing of innocents", British lawyer and academic Malcolm Shaw KC quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while deposing before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on behalf of the Zionist regime Friday.

Shaw said this even as the Israeli Occupation Army (IOF) killed close to 24,000 Palestinians – over 70 percent of them women and children, in Gaza Strip. More than 7,000 others, again majority of them women and children, are under the debris and presumed dead.

The Israeli forces continued bombing the civilian areas of Gaza even during the public hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held in response to a petition filed by South Africa which has accused the Israeli army of committing genocide and massacre of the Palestinians violating various resolutions of the Genocide Convention.

The Israeli military attacks on Saturday caused many casualties near Gaza City in the north and Nuseirat in the centre, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. The Israeli air strike also killed 20 Palestinians in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City.

Wafa said Israeli shelling killed or wounded dozens in al-Dawa neighborhood near Nuseirat. Several victims are still trapped under the rubble, Wafa said.

Israeli strikes have also hit areas of Maghazi and Deir el-Balah, according to the news agency, as Israeli forces moved closer to Al-Aqsa Hospital.

Malcolm Shaw, who is leading the Israeli defense at the UN Court, however argued that South Africa’s application “distorted” and “de-contextualised” the Zionist military actions in Gaza.

He also said that in accusing Israel of genocide, South Africa was “diluting” the meaning of the crime.

While participating in the argument, Shaw on a number of times during the deposition found at loss words and seen drinking water a number of times. Two to three times during the argument, Shaw also had to stop because of “missing documents”.

Representing the Zionist regime, Tal Becker, an advocate for the Israeli team, told the ICJ that the Genocide Convention was drawn up in the aftermath of the mass killing of Jews in the Holocaust and that the phrase “never again” is one of “the highest moral obligations” for Israel.

The Israeli lawyers repeatedly cited “self-defence” to justify its genocide of Palestinians, also described as “war crimes” by South Africa, blaming Hamas for the sufferings of the Gazans.

The Israeli argument however lacked merit as the ICJ had in 2003 ruled that an occupying power cannot claim the right to self-defence, in a case involving Israel’s construction of a separation wall in the occupied West Bank.

South Africa lawyers during the first round of the argument Thursday January 11, 2024 presented before the 15 judges of the ICJ evidences in support of its petition.

Representing South Africa at the ICJ, the lawyers also said that the genocide and massacre of Palestinians are “articulated State policy nurtured at the highest levels”.

The South Africa team also accused Israeli army of celebrating genocide, killing and destructions of Palestinians in Gaza.

The International Court of Justice adjourned the hearing after two days of hearing and reserved its verdict.

Meanwhile, Germany, accused of killing hundreds of thousands of Jews what is described as Holocaust, has announced to intervene in support of Israel and against the South Africa case at the ICJ.

 

Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.

..