A quick survey of the reactions of Israeli leaders indicates some serious issues with reality. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: In a Hebrew broadcast today, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “Like every country, Israel has the basic right to self-defense. The Hague Tribunal rightly rejected the outrageous demand to deprive us of this right. But the very claim that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians is not just false, it is outrageous, and the court’s willingness to discuss it at all, is a mark of disgrace that will not be erased for generations. We are fighting a just war, and we will continue it until complete victory….”
According to national broadcaster Kan, Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi announced that Netanyahu had instructed government ministers to hold off on any public statements before the release of an official government position on the matter. Several ministers found they could not hold their tongues.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant condemned the ruling: “The International Court of Justice in The Hague went above and beyond, when it granted South Africa’s anti—Semitic request to discuss the claim of genocide in Gaza, and now refuses to reject the petition outright. Those who seek justice, will not find it on the leather chairs of the court chambers in The Hague—they will find it in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza….”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir began a rant: “The decision of the anti-Semitic court in The Hague proves what was already known: This court does not seek justice, but rather the persecution of Jewish people. They were silent during the Holocaust [the ICJ was not formed until after World War 2—ed.] and today they continue the hypocrisy and take it another step further.... [D]ecisions that endanger the continued existence of the State of Israel must not be adhered to.”
