Namibian President Hage Geingob stated on Saturday that Germany cannot claim to oppose genocide while backing Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Geingob added that Berlin has “yet to fully atone” for committing genocide in Namibia.
German government spokesman Stefan Hebestreit said on Friday that Berlin will intervene on Israel’s side at the ICJ to argue that the Jewish state has not violated the UN Genocide Convention in its war against Hamas militants. South Africa is leading the case against Israel, arguing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is attempting to “bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial, and ethnic group.”
“Germany cannot morally express commitment to the United Nations Convention against genocide, including atonement for the genocide in Namibia, whilst supporting the equivalent of a holocaust and genocide in Gaza,” Geingob’s office said in a statement on Sunday.
Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people. Israeli forces responded by launching airstrikes on Gaza, followed by a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave a month later. The operation is ongoing and has claimed the lives of nearly 24,000 Palestinians, more than two-thirds of whom have been women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
In addition to its ongoing military campaign, Israel has maintained a near-total siege on Gaza, which has placed 40% of the enclave’s population at risk of famine, the UN warned late last month.
Speaking at a hearing in the Hague on Thursday, South African lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi pointed out that at least 15 UN special rapporteurs and 21 UN working groups have described the situation in Gaza as tantamount to genocide, and that “Israel’s political leaders, military commanders and persons holding official positions have systematically and in explicit terms declared their genocidal intent.”
Despite his own officials openly discussing plans to rid Gaza of its Palestinian population, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel is acting in self-defense. In a speech on Saturday, he condemned the “hypocritical attack in the Hague” and vowed that “we will not stop until we achieve victory.”
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