Jewish academic and researcher in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Norman Finkelstein, said that there are three basic elements that will influence every judge when he makes a decision regarding South Africa’s lawsuit before the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in its war on the Gaza Strip.

Thursday witnessed the start of trial sessions on charges of committing genocide in Gaza, brought by South Africa. The 84-page lawsuit indicates that Israel failed to provide basic food, water, medicine and fuel, and provide shelter and other humanitarian assistance to the residents of the Strip.

Finkelstein explained, in an intervention on Al Jazeera, that the first of these elements is represented in what is revealed by the legal facts presented by the parties in the trial, and the second is in the political pressures that will be exerted on each member by his state, and finally, his credibility as a judge in the court and the credibility of the court in general, if a ruling is issued that contradicts popular perceptions of the case

He did not rule out that the Jewish lobbies would exert pressure not to issue a ruling against Israel, but he believes that this pressure will be exerted at the level of the various governments towards their judges.

Regarding whether Israel’s image would be damaged if a ruling was issued against it by the court, the Jewish academic confirmed that the image had already been permanently damaged, due to the genocide it was committing in Gaza, and then just because the case was being considered before the court even if no ruling was issued against it.

Finkelstein believes that if a ruling is issued by the International Court of Justice against Israel, this will cause “a certain degree of discomfort” for US President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, as he put it.

Source: Al Jazeera