Tal Becker, Israeli legal advisor for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, looks on at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Jan. 12.Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images
Israel declassified more than 30 secret government and military orders on Thursday that it says are evidence of its efforts to minimize civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip. The move aims to rebut South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The court is set to deliver an initial provisional ruling on Friday that would determine (1) whether the ICJ has jurisdiction over the case, (2) whether the acts that South Africa has accused Israel of committing could potentially fall under the scope of the 1948 Genocide Convention, and (3) whether there is an urgent need to order emergency “provisional measures.” South Africa has requested eight such measures, including that Israel immediately suspend its military operation in Gaza. The ICJ ruling will be legally binding, but the court lacks the ability to enforce it, which means that even if the ICJ rules in favor of emergency measures, there is no guarantee that Israel will comply.
South Africa’s case, first filed in December 2023, cites inflammatory comments by top Israeli leaders as evidence of genocidal intent. These include more than 50 statements made since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, such as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant saying Israel is fighting “human animals” and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu suggesting that Israel drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza, a comment he reiterated on Wednesday.
Israel is arguing that lawmakers’ public statements were overruled by executive decisions and other official war cabinet and military orders, including those listed in Thursday’s document reveal. Some of the declassified papers transcribe cabinet discussions, beginning in late October 2023, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza. They highlight incidents when the prime minister suggested having “external actors” set up field hospitals for Palestinians and mooring a hospital ship off the region’s coastline to treat victims. “The prime minister stressed time and again the need to increase significantly the humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip,” a Nov. 14 cabinet meeting details.
None of the documents include orders from the first 10 days of the war, when Israel shut off electricity and water access into Gaza and blocked aid from entering the area.
Israel expects the ICJ to “throw out the completely absurd and ridiculous charges pressed by South Africa,” an Israeli government spokesperson said. More than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, and most of Gaza’s roughly 2.3 million residents have been displaced.
To read the original artcile in the Foregn Policy magazine, please click here.