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South Africa's Genocide Accusation Against Israel Is a Cynical Abuse of the ICJ

(Jerusalem Post) Amb. Alan Baker - The very term "genocide" was coined in 1944 by a Jewish lawyer, Raphael Lemkin, to describe the Nazi atrocities against the Jews during the Holocaust in Europe. This term was ultimately coopted into international law in 1948 in the adoption of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The present armed conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out as a result of a repeated and declared intention, as well as a distinct series of actions, by Hamas to annihilate not only Israel and its population, but to direct its murderous designs against Jews wherever they are. Why has no country or international organization sought to apply the criteria inherent in the genocide allegation to the designs and actions of the Palestinian leadership, including Hamas, both of whom are formally committed to "armed resistance against Israel and to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state in Israel's place"? The criminal component of the Genocide Convention is based entirely on one very central tenet requiring a distinct intention to commit genocide. The South African complaint attributes to Israel a broad and clearly false 75-year genocidal intention to destroy the Palestinians. However, Israel has, throughout its history, consistently sought to achieve peaceful coexistence with its neighbors, including the Palestinians. This is borne out by the many agreements reached, including the 1978 Camp David Accords and the 1991-1993 Madrid process that led to the 1995 Oslo Accords. South Africa is in fact cynically ignoring Israel's inherent and legally justified prerogative and international right to defend itself and its population against terror through removing Hamas' terror capabilities, weaponry, fortifications, and ammunition. To claim that Israel's actions to combat terror constitute the crime of genocide is clearly absurd to the point of being frivolous. No logical and serious analysis of the conflict could indicate any genocidal intention on the part of Israel. The writer, former legal adviser to Israel's Foreign Ministry, has been involved in issues relating to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. He heads the international law program at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
2024-01-10 00:00:00
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