South Africa accused Israel on Thursday (Jan 11) of subjecting Palestinians to genocidal acts at the opening of hearings at the top U.N. court on a case brought against the devastating Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 You have the floor, madam.
00:02 South Africa contends that Israel has transgressed Article 2 of the Convention
00:18 by committing actions that fall within the definition of genocide.
00:24 The actions show a systematic pattern of conduct from which genocide can be inferred.
00:32 The suffering of the Palestinian people, physical and mental, is undeniable.
00:40 Turning to the third genocidal act under Article 2c,
00:47 Israel has deliberately imposed conditions on Gaza that cannot sustain life
00:52 and are calculated to bring about its physical destruction.
00:56 Every day there is mounting irreparable loss of life, property, dignity and humanity for the Palestinian people.
01:07 Our news feeds show graphic images of suffering that has become unbearable to watch.
01:15 Nothing will stop the suffering except an order from this court.
01:20 Without an indication of provisional measures, the atrocities will continue,
01:25 with the Israeli Defence Force indicating that it intends pursuing this course of action for at least a year.
01:31 Members of the Court, South Africa is not alone in drawing attention to Israel's genocidal rhetoric against Palestinians in Gaza.
01:45 Fifteen United Nations Special Rapporteurs and 21 members of the United Nations Working Groups
01:54 have warned that what is happening in Gaza reflects a genocide in the making
02:02 and an overt intent to destroy the Palestinian people and our occupation.
02:11 Israel has a genocidal intent against the Palestinians in Gaza.
02:18 That is evident from the way in which Israel's military attack is being conducted.
02:26 Israel's special genocidal intent is rooted in the belief that in fact the enemy
02:33 is not just the military wing of Hamas, or indeed Hamas generally,
02:40 but is embedded in the fabric of Palestinian life in Gaza.
02:44 To die a slow death because of starvation and dehydration,
02:50 or to die quickly because of a bomb attack or snipers, but to die nevertheless.
02:58 In fact, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said that Israel must find ways for Gazans that are more painful than death.
03:09 It is no answer to say that neither are in command of the army.
03:14 They are ministers in the Israeli government.
03:17 They vote in the Knesset and are in a position to shape state policy.
03:24 The intent to destroy Gaza has been nurtured at the highest levels of state.
03:30 South Africa unequivocally condemned the targeting of civilians by Hamas
03:36 and other Palestinian armed groups and the taking of hostages on the 7th of October 2023,
03:44 and has again expressly recorded this condemnation,
03:48 mostly recently in its non-verbal, to Israel on the 21st of December 2023.
03:56 That said, no armed attack on a state territory, no matter how serious,
04:03 even an attack involving atrocity crimes, can provide any justification for or defend two breaches to the Convention,
04:14 whether as a matter of law or morality.
04:16 [BLANK_AUDIO]