Hamas Charter and the International Criminal Court

"Today, we were witness to one of the greatest shows of hypocrisy in history, compounded by a series of false and baseless claims [brought by South Africa acting as the] legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organization."

"[South Africa] utterly distorted the reality in Gaza following the October 7 massacre and completely ignored the fact that Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, murdered, executed, massacred, raped and abducted Israeli citizens ... in an attempt to carry out [a] genocide."

"[Pretoria's case at The Hague] seeks to allow Hamas to return to commit the war crimes, crimes against humanity and sexual crimes they committed repeatedly on October 7, as its leaders have stated."

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat

 

"Israel has transgressed article two of the [Genocide] Convention, committing acts that fall within the definition of genocide. The actions show a systematic pattern of conduct from which genocide can be inferred."

"Nothing will stop the suffering except an order from this court."

South African attorney Adila Hassim

 

"The violence and the destruction in Palestine and Israel did not begin on October 7, 2023."

"The Palestinians have experienced systematic oppression and violence for the last 76 years."

South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola 

Police officers disperse protesters during a demonstration outside the Peace Palace in The Hague on Thursday, where Israel is facing allegations before the International Court of Justice launched by South Africa of 'genocidal acts' in Gaza. (Robin Utrecht/ANP/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Violence in South Africa is rife, and incitement to violence by Black South Africans afflicting the White population follows a trajectory that brought ruin to Zimbabwe in the early 2000s by Robert Mugabe and which South Africa now sees fit to follow suit. Zimbabwe, once known for its land production was able to export its agricultural products abroad. When its 'land reform' operation went into full swing and white farmers saw their heritage farms expropriated and their properties handed out to friends and colleagues of the administration, agriculture failed and the country faced food shortages, while inflation soared and its currency became worthless.

On a bare hillside near Polokwane, in South Africa's Limpopo Province, stand more than 2,000 white crosses. Crosses on a hillside have memorialized farmers killed in raids. Seventy-five were added last year. (Foreign Correspondent: Alex Barry)

Corruption is rife in South Africa. There has been an epidemic of murder by Black South Africans against White SA farmers. This is the government that chose to align itself with a Palestinian terrorist group further solidifying its known hostility toward Israel. The lavish slander that South Africa's government has embarked upon in its zeal to see the Jewish state humbled and shamed by bringing a charge of genocide against Israel to the United Nations' court of justice turns reality inside out, naming the victim as the aggressor and the aggressor as the wronged-against. 

 

Lawyers for South Africa demanded of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it order an immediate cessation of the Israel Defense Forces' operation in the Gaza Strip aimed at destroying the Hamas terror group.

That the South African Justice Minister would refer to the re-establishment of a formal, sovereign, world-recognized Israel on its ancient ancestral Judaean land as a threat against the existence of 'Palestinians' by its very established presence speaks volumes about the corrupted morals of the African country's executive administration. 

 

Palestinians who refer to themselves as 'victims' of the establishment of Israel, their 'nakba', have consistently threatened and violently attacked Israel; the 'oppression' of which they speak is Israel's self-defence against their lethal violence. A forced, constant vigilance to deter further attacks.

For Israel, the past 76 years have necessitated constant guard against ongoing Palestinian violence, incited by their leadership. For Palestinians those 76 years have been lost opportunities to finally establish their own sovereign nation alongside that of a neighbour. 

 

Their leaders refused their portion of the Partition plan offered by the United Nations, and at every meeting since then to negotiate a peace agreement between Israel and the 'Palestinians' their leaders have refused despite Israeli concessions; refusing as well to offer any concessions of their own in exchange.

 

Outside the 'Peace Palace' in The Hague, Netherlands, where the ICJ court sits, thousands of pro-Israel supporters of Israel took part in a protest organized by local Jewish and Christian groups who waved flags and held posters of the Israelis who were taken hostage or murdered during the Hamas/Islamic Jihad/PFLP/civilian Palestinians orgy of mass rape, slaughter, mutilation and destruction on October 7, 2023 the aftermath of which was the IDF's invasion of Gaza for the direct purpose of exacting justice, through destroying the ability of terrorism out of Gaza to repeat such horror.

The ICJ's purpose as the principal judicial offshoot of the United Nations is to deal with disputes between states. The International Criminal Court (ICC) on the other hand, prosecutes individuals. It is anticipated that the full proceedings are likely to go on for years; even so an interim order could be issued in a matter of weeks although the ICJ has no enforcing ability. A judgement ruling against Israel would have the effect of increasing international pressure to withdraw from  combat operations in Gaza.

South Africa's initiative to charge Israel with violations of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention by its intention "to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group", was highly praised by Hamas. Irony of ironies, the 1948 Genocide convention was drafted following the Holocaust for the purpose of prevention; the destruction or intent to destroy "in whole or in part, a national ethnical, racial or religious group". 

 

The very intention, needless to say, expressed by the Hamas charter.

Israel supporters take part in a demonstration outside the ICJ. (Robin Utrecht /ANP/AFP/Getty Images)

"The IDF is doing its utmost to minimize civilian casualties, while Hamas is doing its utmost to maximize them by using Palestinian civilians as human shields."

"Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law."

"[The Israel Defense Forces drops leaflets, makes phone calls urging civilians to leave conflict zones] providing safe passage corridors, while Hamas prevents Palestinians from leaving at gunpoint and often with gunfire."

"Our goal is to rid Gaza of Hamas terrorists and free our hostages. Once this is achieved, Gaza can be demilitarized and de-radicalized, thereby creating a possibility for a better future for Israel and Palestinians alike."

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu

 

 

Islamist MPs Nibbling Away At Canada's Moral Compass

"I call on Canada to support South Africa's application to the International Court of Justice regarding the current conflict between Israel and Hamas and the impact this conflict is having on the people of Palestine."

Member of Parliament Salma Zahid, Toronto area MP

"[The International Criminal Court prosecution of Israel, brought by South Africa claiming that Israel was engaged in a genocidal war against Palestinians is] an outrageous and cynical abuse of the principles underlying the international legal order that was set up after the Second World War."

Former Canadian Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella

 

"Just last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa was preparing to host Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit in Johannesburg following frequent one-on-one meetings between the two."

"When it became clear that a court would rule that South Africa would have to arrest Putin in terms of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes related to his invasion of Ukraine, the government relented, and Putin attended the summit virtually."

"Prior to that, South Africa had refused to arrest then Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who was charged with a litany of war crimes. Among these were, to quote the ICC, 'five counts of crimes against humanity: murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape; two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking part in hostilities, and pillaging; three counts of genocide: by killing, by causing serious bodily or mental harm, and by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction, allegedly committed at least between 2003 and 2008 in Darfur, Sudan'."

The Brenthurst Foundation: Ray Hartley, Greg Mills

 

Supporters of Hamas demonstrating outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. Photo: Reuters/Jehad Shelba

 

Member of Parliament Zahid, known as a longtime critic of Israel was one of a number of Liberal Members of Parliament who a month ago managed to convince Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to join forces with others who sat fit in the United Nations General Assembly to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Clearly the message of a ceasefire was aimed directly at Israel; Gaza is not an established 'state' and nor would the terrorist group that rules Gaza be bound by an humanitarian urge to cease and desist. Israel's agreement to a ceasefire would not put an end to the Hamas rocket bombardments, a well-known reality.

But that's the direction that the Liberal government under Justin Trudeau chose to take, marking an extraordinary move by Canada, to abandon its allied relationship with the Jewish State to satisfy elected Muslim Members of Parliament who make no secret of their bias against Israel. While the current government has not yet expressed any position on the ICC case which began today, both the Palestinian 'ambassador' to Canada and South Africa's high commissioner in Ottawa publicly urged Canada to support the argument of genocide.

 

Jan 11th 2024 | JOHANNESBURG Ties bound in struggle   image: AFP

South Africa's argument is that the widespread bombardment of Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces and Israel's siege on Palestinians in Gaza "are genocidal in character". Israel's bombardment of Gaza has a direct and distinct purpose; to eliminate any future opportunities for the Hamas terrorist group, along with that of Palestinian Islamic Jihad to ever again commit atrocities against Israelis as they did on October 7 when both, along with Palestinian civilians surged across the border into southern Israel in the thousands to rape, torture, mutilate and murder.

Committing atrocities so foul it's difficult to imagine human minds even imagining them, much less engaging in them to exact pain and remorseless anguish on vulnerable girls, women, children, and entire families burned to death in their homes. That deadly pogrom and the abduction of 250 elderly people, infirm and ill, residents of border towns and kibbutzim, infants and teens, foreign farm workers and other civilians, along with Israeli soldiers constituted a crime against humanity, not the response by Israel to extinguish terrorism in Gaza geared to Israel's destruction.

Others in the Liberal caucus, including MPs Marco Mendicino and Anthony Housefather describe the court application by South Africa as "baseless and unconscionable" for the very reason that Israel's offensive is a defensive one, in its efforts to prevent terrorists out of Gaza from repeating such horrendous attacks -- murdering over 1,200 people in a single day -- leaving the remains of so many dead bodies strewn about that identification of the dead is still being processed, three months later.

South African, in the meantime, sees nothing amiss itself in maintaining friendly contact and support by those responsible for a magnitude of killing amounting to genocidal slaughter condemned by the same ICC. Soon after launching the ICJ proceedings against Israel, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the leader of the Sudanese Janjaweed Arab group responsible along with the Sudanese government for the genocide that took place in Darfur two decades ago, once again under the Rapid Support Forces perpetrating crimes against humanity in Sudan, massacring Black Sudanese farmers, and committing sexual violence.

"Hypocrisy has, it would seem, no limits when it comes to South Africa’s foreign policy. Exactly a week before the country was due to accuse Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on January 11th, President Cyril Ramaphosa played host to Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, a Sudanese warlord whose Janjaweed militia and its successor are accused of genocide and war crimes in Darfur. Adding to the insult, Mr Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, later visited the genocide museum in Kigali, Rwanda."

"Just as jarring was a ceremony on December 5th marking ten years since the death of Nelson Mandela, a man seen by the world as a symbol of reconciliation and peace. A Hamas delegation led by Bassem Naim, a senior official, joined Mandela’s grandson, Mandla, in a march through the streets of Pretoria, the capital. At their destination—the statue of Madiba (as Mandela is honorifically known) that stands proudly outside the president’s office—they laid a wreath with Lindiwe Zulu, the social-development minister."

The Economist

Exterior view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

 

"The Egregious Breach of Fundamental Principles of Humanity"

"In both Kibbutz Be'eri and Kibbutz Kfar Azza, as well as a the site of the Nova Music Festival in Re'im, I witnessed scenes of calculated cruelty."

"[I will work in partnership with victims' families] as part of our ongoing work to hold those responsible to account."

"[The Israel Defense Forces] has trained lawyers who advise commanders, and a robust system intended to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law."

"Conflict in densely populated areas where fighters are alleged to be unlawfully embedded in the civilian population is inherently complex, but international humanitarian law must still apply and the Israeli military knows the law that must be applied."

"As I have repeatedly emphasized, civilians must have access to basic food, water and desperately needed medical supplies, without further delay, and at pace and at scale."

"And when such aid arrives, it must not be diverted or misused by Hamas."

International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan visits a Gaza border town massacred by Hamas, on December 3, 2023. (Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum)

 

In 2015 the Palestinian Authority declared its acceptance of the ICC jurisdiction when it appealed to the court to investigate the PA's allegations of Israel committing crimes against Palestinians. The crimes being, of course, the IDF's vigilance against and interception of when possible, violence by Palestinians urged on by the PA's frequent declarations of the need for Palestinians to 'resist' the 'occupation'; an 'occupation' necessitated by the requirement of self-protection from such lethal attacks.

Not only does the Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas incite Palestinians to violence, praising them as martyrs and offering financial upkeep to families of 'martyrs' and to prisoners in Israeli jails who have committed terrorist acts, it also publishes school curricula for children at every grade level replete with scurrilous descriptions of Jews and warnings that Israel means to kill them, and it is their obligation to strike first.

Israel, on the other hand, with its experience as the perpetual target of Palestinian 'victimhood' and 'rage' and 'intifadas', along with its negative status in the United Nations, as well as previous ICC spokespeople and investigators, had no wish to accept the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction over the "situation in Palestine". Yet families of some of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas terrorists into Gaza to be tormented and tortured and to serve as pawns in prisoner exchanges, appealed to the ICC to inspect the deadly carnage in the aftermath of the Hamas atrocities.

The result was that Karim Ahmad Khan, the ICC chief prosecutor, toured the aftermath sites of the three most heavily attacked southern Israel areas on October 7, and concluded from the evidence and his own inspection that the Hamas slaughter represents "some of the most serious international crimes that shock the conscience of humanity". The consciences of ordinary Palestinian citizens in Gaza, however were exempt from shock; they chose to celebrate the 'victory' Hamas brought to Gaza in the form of injured and frightened Israeli children, teens, women, the elderly and soldiers.

 

The chief prosecutor called for the "immediate and unconditional" release of the estimated 137 hostages remaining in captivity under Hamas, taking pains to cite "the egregious breach of fundamental principles of humanity through the taking and continued holding of children". He met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah where ways were discussed to "deepen our co-operation under the Rome Statute [ICC's founding charter]".

Handout picture provided by the Palestinian Press Office (PPO) shows Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas (CR) meeting with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan (CL) in Ramallah in the West Bank on December 2, 2023. (Photo by Thaer GHANAIM / PPO / AFP)