They’ve played the anti semitism card.
Source: Guardian, Live Updates thread
Israeli officials accuse ICJ of antisemitic bias
Israeli officials have accused the international court of justice of antisemitic bias and expressed dismay that a South African case alleging that the war in Gaza amounts to genocide was not thrown out altogether, after the court issued an emergency interim ruling.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in response to the ruling that his country was committed to upholding international law, as well as defending its people. He said in a statement:
The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right [to self-defence] is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected.
While Israel is often dismissive of the UN, alleging the international organisation is biased against it, it took the ICJ case very seriously, sending a robust legal team to The Hague that argued it had a right to defend itself after the 7 October Hamas attack.
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, who was cited by the court president for calling Palestinians “human animals” at the start of the Israeli offensive, said:
The international court of justice went above and beyond, when it granted South Africa’s antisemitic request to discuss the claim of genocide in Gaza, and now refuses to reject the petition outright.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, tweeted:
This court does not seek justice, but rather the persecution of the Jewish people. Decisions that endanger the continued existence of the state of Israel must not be listened to. And we must continue defeating the enemy until complete victory.