Praises His State Representative At ICJ, Foreign Minister Katz: Nothing Can Block Israeli Rights From Defending Himself

JAKARTA - Israeli Foreign Minister Katz praised the defense of the Israeli delegation at a trial at the International Court (ICJ) in The Hague on Friday, saying nothing could prevent Israel from defending itself.

"I commend the Israeli legal team for representing us with great honor and pride at the International Court in The Hague against South Africa's warranty," Foreign Minister Katz said in a statement.

"As our representatives have told the South African legal team, which serves as the legal arm of the killers and rapists of Hamas - repeating a thousand lies doesn't make it true," he added.

Israel acknowledged the war in Gaza, the Palestinians were tragic but said there was no genocide there, when responding to South Africa's accusations at a trial at the International Court (ICJ), The Hague, Netherlands, on Friday, asking the judge to cancel requests for an end to operations in Rafah and withdraw troops from Palestinian territory.

Israeli Justice Ministry official Gilad Noam in the trial said the South African case, which accused Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, was "completely not in accordance with the facts and circumstances".

"(This case) is a joke against allegations of heinous genocide," Noam said.

Noam said Israel's military operations were not aimed at civilians, but at Hamas terrorists who used Rafah as its stronghold, which has a tunnel system that can be used to smuggle hostages and militants out of Gaza.

In previous decisions, the court rejected Israel's demands to overturn the case, ordering Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians, but did not order Israel to stop the attack.

"No force can prevent Israel from exercising its right to defend itself. We will continue to fight in the fields of law, politics and the military until all 132 of our hostages return to their families," said Foreign Minister Katz.

It is known, ICJ held a trial for two days starting yesterday, in connection with South Africa's request for additional emergency action to protect Rafah in southern Gaza, as part of the alleged genocide case in the Palestinian enclave.

This week's hearing only focused on emergency measures and will likely take years, before the court can decide on the underlying genocide allegations.

Decisions regarding requests for emergency action are expected to be taken next week.