Israel decided to appear before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, to demand the dismissal of the lawsuit filed against it by South Africa, which said that Tel Aviv committed genocide in Gaza.

The expected Israeli move comes in order to demand the rejection of the South African request to issue a temporary injunction against Israel, demanding that it immediately suspend its military operations in Gaza.

This came, according to what Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on its website (Ynet), late Monday evening, quoting the Israeli National Security Advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi.

Hanegbi said, "The State of Israel signed the Convention against Genocide decades ago, and we will certainly not boycott the discussion therein. We will be present and respond to the absurd lawsuit that constitutes a bloody conspiracy," as he described it.

The decision was preceded by “hectic discussions” in Tel Aviv, according to the Ynet report, which indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had participated in a similar discussion on Monday.

The report stated that discussions took place in the past few days in the Israeli army, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Security, and the Ministry of Justice regarding this, indicating that the aforementioned parties discussed ways to deal with the lawsuit against Tel Aviv.

“The Jewish people have suffered more than any other nation from extermination,” Hanegbi said. “Six million of our people were slaughtered with endless cruelty.... Similar cruelty was used against the citizens of Israel in the October 7 massacre, except this time we have the ability to defend ourselves against those who seek to destroy us."

He added, "The baseless allegation against the victim's right to defend himself is a disgrace, and we expect all civilized countries to sympathize with us."

Hearings in the case itself may last between four and six years, “but Israeli efforts now aim to thwart the issuance of a temporary order that might force Israel to reach a ceasefire in Gaza,” according to the report.

Ynet pointed out that Israel "will also use diplomatic pressure tools to mobilize countries against South Africa and this step."

He claimed that Tel Aviv has "strong legal arguments to reject South Africa's claim, one of which is the claim that there is no (consensus) in international forums that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, and that even South Africa has not made such a claim in the past."

The website stated, "It is not yet clear who the Israeli representative will appear before the court, whether he is a diplomat, a legal expert, or even another Israeli official."

On the twenty-ninth of last month, South Africa submitted a request to the International Court of Justice to begin procedures against Israel, for what it described as “acts of genocide against the Palestinian people” in the Gaza Strip, according to what the court announced at the time.

South Africa said that “Israel’s actions and omissions bear the character of genocide because they are accompanied by the requisite specific intent to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza as part of the broader national, ethnic and ethnic group, the Palestinians,” the ICJ said in its statement.

It noted that “based on its behavior, through its agencies, agents and other persons and entities acting on its instructions or under its direction, control or influence - towards the Palestinians in Gaza, Israel is failing to fulfill its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”

South Africa stated that Israel “particularly since October 7, 2023 has failed in its obligation to prevent genocide and to punish direct and public incitement to commit genocide (...) and has engaged, is engaging, and may continue to engage in acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” according to the court. .

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to South Africa's accusations before international justice, saying that "South Africa's claim lacks a factual and legal basis and constitutes a despicable and cheap exploitation of the court."

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