The German government has announced that it will intervene in the genocide case against Israel’s crimes in Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
In a statement, on Friday, January 12, the spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said, “The German government firmly rejects the accusation of genocide made against Israel. It has no basis whatsoever.”
“In view of Germany’s history, crimes against humanity, and Shoah (catastrophe in English), the government is particularly committed to the UN Genocide Convention.”
“The German government supports the ICJ in its work, as it has done for many decades. The government intends to intervene as a third party in the main hearing,” the statement added.
On Friday, January 12, the Israeli government defended itself at the ICJ, dismissing accusations of genocide.
On Thursday, January 11, ICJ commenced a hearing on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.
South Africa asked the court’s judges on Thursday to impose urgent measures ordering Israel to immediately stop its attack.
On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a complaint with the ICJ, saying that Israel was violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide signed in 1948 following the Holocaust during World War II.
Israel launched continuous air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas surprise attack on October 7 that killed approximately 1,200 people.
Since October 7, more than 23,700 people, most of them women and children, were killed in the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
