Canada does not support the premise of South Africa’s case against Israel at ICJ

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada supports the International Court of Justice but that doesn’t mean Canada supports the premise of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.

On Thursday, South Africa launched a case at the top United Nations court arguing Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and its siege on the Palestinians who live there “are genocidal in character.”

Trudeau says more details on Canada’s position will come today.

 

 

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has vehemently denied the allegations, and took the rare step of engaging with the court to defend their international reputation.

South Africa also asked the international court to order Israel to halt its attacks, which began after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took about 240 people hostage on Oct. 7.

Israel responded with airstrikes and by restricting access to crucial supplies in the Hamas-controlled territory, where local authorities say more than 23,200 Palestinians have been killed.

 

 

This article was first reported by The Canadian Press

— With files from The Associated Press