The doctor also spoke before the Court Galit Raguan who, in defense of Israel’s actions in Gaza, recalled that Israel’s policies of warning Palestinian civilians to evacuate from war zones and providing humanitarian aid demonstrate that there is not even plausibility to South Africa’s claims of genocide. In support of this, Dr. Raguan provided evidence of these practices, but also evidence that there has always been evidence from Hamas the widespread military use of civilian infrastructure in Gaza stating that, as this is a deliberate strategy, this is the real source of harm to civilians in Gaza and not any alleged genocidal campaign. He then denounced South Africa’s claims that Israel’s warnings for civilians to evacuate combat areas are an attempt to destroy the Palestinian people. “The applicant strikingly claims that these efforts are themselves genocidal. A measure intended to mitigate harm to civilians is evidence, according to the applicant, of Israel’s intention to commit genocide when in reality it demonstrates the exact opposite.” He then listed numerous Israeli efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid, including ambulances, hospital incubators, the provision of food, water and medicine, the establishment of four field hospitals and two floating hospitals in the Mediterranean Sea. Then he claims that this totally undermines the idea that Israel is trying to destroy the Palestinian people in Gaza.
“This alone is enough to demonstrate how biased the South Africans’ accusations are and how unfounded the accusations of genocide are.” But that’s not all, she went further when she declared: “In fact damage and deaths have been done in Gaza, but they are the response to the hostility of Hamas, Israel warned Palestinian civilians according to the rules of international law, but South Africa forgot to mention this to the court. There is no doubt that many citizens of Gaza are suffering as a result of the war, and while Israel is doing everything to reduce this suffering, Hamas is doing everything to increase it. Would Israel delay its ground operation for weeks, invest enormous resources in telling civilians where, when and how to evacuate and leave combat areas? If Israel were trying to commit genocide it would not maintain a dedicated staff of experts whose sole role is to provide humanitarian aid. Hamas claimed that the IDF attacked the Rantisi hospital and newspaper headlines around the world published that the IDF had attacked it, but after an investigation, the facts were the opposite: the hospital was hit by a Hamas missile launch which failed and instead of hitting Israeli civilians, it hit the hospital in Gaza.”
Therefore, according to Malcom Shaw’s thesis, there is no substance to the claims that Israel has the specific intent to destroy all or part of the Palestinian people. He added: “Possible violations by individual soldiers do not necessarily reflect state policy.” On this he referred to some statements by Israeli army commanders and ministers who ask the army to focus on military objectives and reduce civilian casualties to a minimum. Israel intends to act to defend itself from Hamas and other similar groups, and if Israeli forces have broken any rules of conflict, the matter must be addressed elsewhere, at the appropriate time and by Israel’s robust and independent legal system. Israel’s actions comply with international humanitarian law and they are proportionate. According to him, South Africa has provided a “distorted factual and legal framework. South Africa has close ties to Hamas, which undermine the credibility of his claims. Hamas started the war with its attack and this gives Israel the right to defend itself in compliance with international humanitarian law.
Hamas continues its military operations in civilian areas, worsening the Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza. Israel, meanwhile, seeks to minimize harm to those same civilians. The calls for Israel to end its operations in Gaza cannot stand.” As if what is happening in The Hague wasn’t enough, so is the Turkish President Erdogan he had his say and, completely forgetting what his army is doing against the Kurds, declared: “We have handed over documents against Israel, we believe that justice will be obtained at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.” It is not currently known which documents these are.
It is already serious that it is used improperly during rallies and on the internet where, by virtue of anonymity, anyone feels able to say whatever nonsense they want, just as it is equally serious to hear it used improperly by journalists and commentators who use the term genocide with outline of anti-Zionism they fill their mouths. But the fact that it is even put down in black and white in a courtroom is not only serious but also ridiculous, because in doing so it transforms that institution which should be the home of justice for all the peoples of the world, born from the Treaty of 1948 precisely from the tragedy of the Jewish people, in a joke.
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