Demonstrators supporting both Gaza and Israel clashed outside the International Court of Justice as it began the first of two days of hearings after South Africa charged Israel with genocide.

Palestinians marched with banners collecting the names of people known to have been killed:

Israel’s supporters set up a screen with images of some of the people they say are still being held hostage by Hamas. This is not a good enough justification for the murder of nearly 30,000 innocent people, including women and children, This Writer believes.

Inside the court, South Africa’s representative delivered its case that Israel’s actions “are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group”:

The BBC has reported:

It says Israel’s actions include “killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction”.

It calls for “provisional measures” to be implemented by the court as a matter of urgency, including that Israel cease all military activities in Gaza.

Israel has defended its actions in Gaza, saying it is responding to Hamas’s deadly attacks on 7 October, but speaking in court on Thursday, South Africa’s Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said no attack “can provide justification for or defend breaches of the [Genocide] Convention”.

Israel is a signatory to the Genocide Convention of 1948, which defines genocide and commits states to prevent it.

South Africa’s case has won widespread support, including from 11 national governments:

Sadly the United Kingdom is not one of them.

But UK politician Jeremy Corbyn is with the South African delegation and has published a video clip explaining the significance of what is happening, alongside former South African MP Andrew Feinstein. He also called for UK citizens to take part in demonstrations supporting Gaza on Saturday:

And while all this is going on, the slaughter in Gaza continues:

https://twitter.com/BeckettUnite/status/1745368960004972703

Israel will deliver its submissions to the court tomorrow (January 12).

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