South Africa tells top UN court that it's accusing Israel of apartheid against Palestinians
South Africa has argued at the United Nations’ top court that Israel is responsible for apartheid against the Palestinians and that Israel’s occupation of land sought for a Palestinian state is “inherently and fundamentally illegal.”
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — South Africa argued at the United Nations' top court on Tuesday that Israel is responsible for apartheid against the Palestinians and that Israel's occupation of land sought for a Palestinian state is “inherently and fundamentally illegal.” Israel rejects such claims.
The South African representatives were speaking on the second day of hearings at the International Court of Justice into a request by the General Assembly for a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of Israel's policies in the occupied territories.
“South Africa bears a special obligation, both to its own people and the international community, to ensure that wherever the egregious and offensive practices of apartheid occur, these must be called out for what they are and brought to an immediate end," the country's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, told the panel of 15 international judges.
Israel rejects accusations of apartheid and usually dismisses U.N. bodies and international tribunals as unfair and biased against it. Israel is not making a statement during the hearings, which are taking place against the backdrop of the war in Gaza that has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
