Jerusalem Post, Jan. 13, 2024
“Having witnessed the well-prepared presentation by the South African team one can only wonder what else is in store for Israel in the coming weeks.”
South Africa does not excel, to say the least, on fighting corruption or on efficiently managing public institutions, which is perhaps why Israel did not see it coming. True, since the beginning of the ground offensive in Gaza, IDF advanced with legal counseling at its side every step of the way. Having said that, it is clear now that Israel arrived to the International Court of Justice in the Hague not enough prepared.
By not enough prepared, I don’t mean that the Israeli legal team didn’t do its homework. On the contrary. Under the circumstances, it actually did remarkably well. The six Israeli legal experts stayed calm, focused, and clear in their arguments.
Time was calculated to the very last minute, to bring up to the court’s attention every detail that could strengthen the Israeli viewpoint. The most powerful parts were probably the opening remarks by Tal Becker and the presentation by Galit Raguan about facts on the ground, laying it out to the court why Israel cannot be suspected on genocidal intention.
The thing is, that the problem goes much deeper. It relates to irresponsible statements issued since Oct. 7 by Israeli politicians, to videos and pictures filmed by soldiers inside the Gaza Strip, and to missed warning signs that South Africa was up to something.
The Israeli legal team explained that most of the statements presented by South Africa came from people who are not decision-makers, that the quotes from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were taken out of context.
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