Hirst: The fate of international justice depends on the lawsuit against Israel in “International Justice” | Press tour

David Hirst, editor-in-chief of the British Middle East Eye website, said that the request submitted to the International Court of Justice in which South Africa accuses Israel of committing genocide in… Gazadevoid of any rhetorical or biased nature.

He added – in his article – that the 84-page document was carefully drafted by international experts in the field of genocide, and is full of supporting evidence and carefully discussed from a legal standpoint.

The International Court of Justice has agreed to hold a hearing next week to discuss South Africa’s request for an urgent ruling.

Hirst emphasized in his article that the fate of international justice depends on this issue.

Intentional extermination

He continued that the South African document presents a large number of evidence of deliberate acts of genocide in Gaza, and divided it into seven main categories: the volume of killing operations, whose victims exceeded 22 thousand martyrs, 70% of whom were women and children, and the cruel and inhuman treatment of large numbers of civilians, including Among them are children who were arrested, blindfolded, and forced to take off their clothes and stay outside in cold weather before being transported to unknown locations.

This is in addition to the continuous retreat from security promises, in light of Israel’s bombing of the areas to which residents were advised in leaflets to flee.

In addition to this, there is the deprivation of access to food and water, adequate shelter, clothing, and hygiene, as well as the destruction of health services infrastructure, and the demolition of cities, residential buildings, schools, universities, and the entire infrastructure.

This is in addition to statements by Israeli officials of genocidal intent against the Palestinian people, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s references to the biblical story of the complete destruction of the Amalekites at the hands of the Israelis, President Isaac Herzog’s statement that “the entire nation of Gaza is responsible,” and Defense Minister Yoav Galant’s assertion That Israel is fighting “human animals.”

Hirst pointed out that Giora Eiland, the former head of the Israeli National Security Council and a government advisor, was particularly prominent in expressing what Israel is doing, as he said, “We have cut off the supply of energy, water and fuel to the Strip, but that is not enough. In order to make the blockade more effective, we must To prevent others from providing assistance to Gaza, the people must be told that they have two choices: either stay and starve, or leave.”

The writer explained that the importance of South Africa’s lawsuit is that it relates to a genocide that occurs directly every day and will continue if no external force intervenes.

In addition, the request was made by South Africa, which suffered from the apartheid regime and proved that the struggle for liberation against this very powerful authoritarian regime could succeed.

Ridiculous accusation

Hirst said that Israel responded to South Africa’s move by absurdly accusing it of collusion with the Islamic Resistance Movement.agitationThis is an allegation for which there is no evidence.

The writer pointed out that Israel’s main supporters called for South Africa’s move to be rejected, even before it was heard in The Hague.

John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, called the South Africa case “worthless, counterproductive, and with absolutely no basis in reality.”

Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, also separately condemned the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into Israeli war crimes, complaining of the “worrying politicization” of the police force.

The writer explained that there is no need for a law degree to understand what is going on, as one can get an idea about the daily production of hate speech in Israel by watching and listening to videos of soldiers, singers, artists, and politicians.

They represent – the writer adds – what the mainstream in Israel believes is support for genocide, and they are proud of their racism, joke about it, and make no effort to hide it.

Hirst said that history does not support the policy of targeting resistance leaders with assassination, as the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau was killed Saleh Al-Arouri In Beirut, it is compared to the Mossad’s pursuit of the planners of the Munich Olympics incident in 1972. But the targeted assassination of Palestinian leaders is not a new thing, nor has it clearly succeeded.

Failed policy

The writer reported that Israel targeted, nearly two decades ago, the founder of the movement Ahmed YassinA quadriplegic and sitting in a wheelchair, he was hit by missiles fired from a helicopter, while he was being transported to a mosque to perform the dawn prayer.

Only two years after his killing, Hamas won the first free elections held in Palestine in many years. Today, it has become larger, stronger, and more popular at the political and military levels than it was before.

He continued that the assassination of Hamas leaders will only encourage a new generation of resistance leaders to move forward, with each generation stronger than the previous one. By targeting them, Israel is targeting people with whom it must one day negotiate.

Hirst quoted Peter Hain, the South African-born former British Minister for the Middle East, as saying that peace talks are the only way forward for Israel and its allies.

“I write this from Cape Town, where South Africans of all races and creeds despise what they see as a profound double standard by leaders of the Global North, who want to support self-determination for Ukraine, but are complicit in denying Palestinian self-determination,” Hein wrote in The Guardian. “Responsible for the terror in Gaza.”

“The geopolitical rift with the Global South is deepening, and will cost Washington, London and Brussels dearly in an increasingly turbulent world,” Haine continued.