Netanyahu casts off genocide case, vows to push ahead against Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant tone on Friday after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) refused to throw out a genocide case against Israel, saying troops are carrying out a “sacred mission” to defend the country and vowing to continue the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu said “Israel has an inherent right to defend itself” in a video address shortly after the ICJ ruled Israel must contain the civilian death toll in Gaza. The United Nations judicial body also put more restraints on Israel’s military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right [to defend itself] is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected,” Netanyahu said. “The charge of genocide leveled against Israel is not only false, it’s outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it.”

Friday’s ruling stops short of calling for a ceasefire and immediate halt to Israel’s military activity and displacement of Palestinian people — actions requested by South Africa when it brought the genocide case to the ICJ, based at The Hague in The Netherlands.

But the court said Israel must restrain from the destruction of infrastructure, should support more humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza strip and prevent calls to commit genocide against the Palestinian people. Israeli officials must submit a report within a month on how those measures have been implemented, the ICJ said.

And in a blow to Israel, the court rejected Israel’s request to throw out the case, finding it was plausible enough to take on. The court is expected to take years to issue a final ruling on the genocide case.

“South Africa has standing to submit to it the dispute with Israel concerning alleged violations of obligations under the Genocide Convention,” ICJ President Joan Donoghue said in a statement on the ruling.

The ICJ ruling will complicate Israel’s justification to continue the war and it will be harder for allies such as the U.S. and western nations to keep supporting the war, some analysts say.

Trita Parsi, executive vice president for the think tank Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said despite the decision not to order a ceasefire, the ICJ ruled overwhelmingly for South Africa and the case will increase pressure for a ceasefire.

“Israel will now be similarly associated with the charge of genocide,” he said in a statement and an email to The Hill. “As a result, those countries that have supported Israel and its military campaign in Gaza, such as the U.S. under President Biden, will be associated with that charge, too.”

Biden has not yet commented on the ICJ ruling.

Israel’s war has already become increasingly difficult for the country to continue in the face of international pressure for a ceasefire, with more than 25,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Netanyahu’s aims to completely destroy Hamas and rescue hostages have also become elusive.

Israel argues that the war is a necessary act of self-defense after Hamas invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7 and killed around 1,200 people and took another 240 hostages, with roughly 130 still remaining in Gaza.

South Africa in oral arguments before the ICJ said Israel’s blanket destruction of Gaza is not justified as a defense response to the Hamas attacks and violates the Genocide Convention that requires countries to prevent genocide.

Along with its argument to self-defense, Israel has accused Hamas of genocidal intent, which Netanyahu repeated on Friday.

“Israel will continue to defend itself against Hamas, a genocidal terror organization,” he said. “On October 7th, Hamas perpetrated the most horrific atrocities against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and it vows to repeat these atrocities again and again and again.”

“Our war is against Hamas terrorists, not against Palestinian civilians,” he continued. “We will continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance, and to do our utmost to keep civilians out of harm’s way, even as Hamas uses civilians as human shields. We will continue to do what is necessary to defend our country and defend our people.”