STORY: UN court holds public hearings on South Africa's genocide case against Israel
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 11 & 12, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 13, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:17
LOCATION: THE HAGUE, the Netherlands
CATEGORY: LAW

SHOTLIST: (courtesy of UN website)
1. various of the two-day public hearings by the International Court of Justice on South Africa's genocide case against Israel in The Hague, the Netherlands
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): RONALD LAMOLA, South African Justice and Correctional Service Minister
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ADILA HASSIM, South African lawyer
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): TEMBEKA NGCUKAITOBI, South African lawyer

STORYLINE:

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded on Friday its two-day public hearings here on South Africa's genocide case against Israel and demand for the court's urgent intervention to stop Israel's military operation in Gaza.
   
On Thursday, during the hearing held at the Peace Palace, the seat of the ICJ in The Hague, the South African side accused Israel of the "deliberate" and "systemic" genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by citing reports and data from the United Nations and other international agencies, and representing video evidence.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): RONALD LAMOLA, South African Justice and Correctional Service Minister
"The Palestinians have experienced systematic oppression and violence for the last 76 years."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ADILA HASSIM, South African lawyer
"For the past 96 days, Israel has subjected Gaza to what has been described as one of the heaviest conventional bombing campaigns in the history of modern warfare.
It's my task to address the court on the genocidal acts that have led to this urgent request for provisional measures under article 41 of the statute of the court. South Africa contends that Israel has transgressed article 2 of the convention by committing actions that fall within the definition of genocide.
The actions show a systematic pattern of conduct from which genocide can be inferred."
   
SOUNDBITE 3 (English): TEMBEKA NGCUKAITOBI, South African lawyer
"Israel has a genocidal intent against the Palestinians in Gaza. That is evident from the way in which Israel's military attack is being conducted, which has been described by Ms Hassim. It is systematic in character and in form, so much so that as we stand today, one percent of the Palestinian population in Gaza has been systematically decimated, and one in four Gazans have been injured since Oct. 7, 2023. These two elements alone are capable of evidencing Israel's genocidal intent in relation to the whole or part of the Palestinian population in Gaza."
   
To protect Palestinians from "further, severe and irreparable harm," the South African side demanded that the court should "indicate provisional measure" for Israel to "immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza" and refrain from all actions that endanger the Palestinians in Gaza.

On Friday, Israeli representatives argued that Israel's military operation in Gaza was an act of self-defense and denied South Africa's genocide accusation.
   
Israeli lawyer Tal Becker stressed that South Africa has "regrettably engaged in a transparent attempt to abuse" the Genocide Convention's compulsory jurisdiction mechanism.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from The Hague, the Netherlands.
(XHTV)