Israeli FM calls South Africa ‘the legal arm of Hamas’ after failed ICJ complaint

South Africa petitioned the International Court of Justice in the Hague and said it was ‘gravely concerned’ about the IDF’s planned incursion into Rafah.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Following South Africa’s unsuccessful bid  to ask the ICJ to constrain Israel’s operation in Rafah, Israel’s Foreign Minister declared on X that “South Africa is the legal arm of Hamas.”

South Africa petitioned the International Court of Justice in the Hague because it was “gravely concerned” about the IDF’s planned incursion into Rafah.

The petition alleged Israel’s military operations have “already led to and will result in further large-scale killing, harm and destruction.”

Last month South Africa petitioned the court with accusations that Israel was committing genocide. The ICJ responded that although Israel wasn’t guilty of the intentional destruction of an entire group of people, they were ordered to abide by “provisional measures” to prevent genocide against Gazan civilians.

In response to South Africa’s most recent petition,  the ICJ determined that Israel need not be bound by any additional measures than the ones that were already issued in late January.

However, the ICJ described operations in Rafah as a “perilous situation.”

South Africa’s repeated attempts to prevent Israel from pursuing its military goal in Gaza of eliminating Hamas, elicited a reaction from Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat who wrote on X:

“South Africa’s failed attempt to undermine Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens from the Hamas terrorist organization provides further proof that its claims are baseless and unsubstantiated,” Haiat wrote.

“Through its actions, South Africa is serving as the legal arm of Hamas and is working to advance the interests of this terrorist organization,” Haiat continued.

In addition, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz wrote in a statement, “We will continue to fight the blood libel that South Africa is promoting and to uphold our right to defend ourselves against the Nazi Hamas murderers.”

He added, “Through its actions, South Africa is serving as the legal arm of Hamas and is working to advance the interests of this terrorist organization, which operates from within the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, including in the city of Rafah, as was witnessed in the hostage rescue operation earlier this week.”

Israel Katz concluded, “Israel is acting and will continue to act based on its right to protect its citizens and to release the hostages, while remaining committed to upholding international law, facilitating the transfer of humanitarian aid, and making every effort to prevent harm to uninvolved civilians. This while Hamas terrorists commit war crimes and crimes against humanity and attack the citizens of Israel while using the civilian population of the Gaza Strip as human shields.”