Gaza War Is ‘Tragic’ But Not Genocide, Israel Tells UN Court
- Israel said South African request has ‘blatant distortions’
- South Africa sought emergency measures to protect Palestinians
Displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on May 16.
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Israel denied it’s committing genocide in Gaza after South Africa filed a request at the International Court of Justice for emergency measures to stop what it called the destruction of the Palestinian enclave.
“This war, like all wars, is tragic and terrible for Israelis and Palestinians and it has exacted a terrible human price. But it is not a genocide,” Israel’s lawyer Gilad Noam said on Friday at the United Nations court in The Hague. South Africa’s “fourth request for provisional measures is replete with blatant distortions,” he said. “Armed conflict is not a synonym for genocide.”