Cuba: US Involves Israeli Genocide Against Palestinian People

PM Netanyahu welcomes President Biden's arrival in Israel. (Twitter/@netanyahu)

JAKARTA - The Genocide against the Palestinian people was carried out by Israel with the help of the United States, said Cuban Foreign Minister Anayansi Rodriguez Camejo.

The International Court (ICJ) on Monday (19/2) began holding a public hearing on the legal consequences of Israel's policies in Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Located at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, the session, which will last until February 26, is expected to be attended by 52 countries and three international organizations.

According to Camejo, Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people is not limited to the current war, but all of them, with the involvement of the United States, have made the international community unable to protect the Palestinian people.

"The justification of fighting terrorism and fulfilling the right to self-defense is a lie if it is done by the aggressors themselves," he said at the hearing, broadcast by the United Nations.

Cuba proposed that Israel's actions be considered an act of "low-scale genocide", which was carried out with "systematic and effective cruelty", he said.

"Menganggap aksi Israel hanya sebagai tindakan apartheid akan menghilangkan masuk maksalif untuk memusnahkan bangsa Palestina, baik sebagai bagian maupun kelompok etnis dan agama, yang tidak diberi hak untuk menentukan keputusan sendiri," kata Camejo.

On Monday, the Palestinian delegation asked the ICJ to recognize Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories as an illegal act. That recognition could be the last chance to establish two separate Israeli and Palestinian countries.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a massive rocket attack on Israel from Gaza and broke through the border. The attack killed 1,200 people and Hamas took 240 others hostage.

Israel then retaliated with an all-out attack, blockaded fully Gaza, launching ground attacks within the Palestinian enclave to "instigate Hamas fighters and free hostages".

At least 29,000 people have died in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.

On November 24, Qatar mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas for prisoner swaps with hostages and a ceasefire, allowing humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. The ceasefire was extended several times and ended on December 1.

More than 100 people are believed to be still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.