President Isaac Herzog met this morning (Tuesday) with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and attacked South Africa ahead of the hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, saying "there is nothing more horrific and ridiculous than this claim."
In the meeting between the two, he mentioned to the Secretary of State his conversation with Kamala Harris, in which he emphasized what he called South Africa's ridiculous claims regarding Israel's conduct in Gaza.
According to the president, "And I will repeat what I told her in front of you as well - on Thursday, a proceeding will begin at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, according to which South Africa sued Israel for alleged genocide. There is nothing more horrific and ridiculous than this claim. In fact, our enemies, Hamas, in their treaty call for destruction. For the destruction of the State of Israel, the only national state of the Jewish people."
Herzog: "We will show up in The Hague and proudly represent our side"
Herzog went on to talk about the upcoming hearing at the Hague Tribunal and the hypocrisy of South Africa. "The Convention against Genocide was enacted by the international community following the worst atrocities of the human race, such as the Holocaust, which was specifically aimed at the Jews, with the aim of eliminating the Jewish race, the Jewish people.
"The Hamas treaty is almost the same in many ways. And now, in the face of South Africa's hypocrisy, we will be there at the International Court of Justice and proudly represent our side, of using self-defense under the most inherent right in international humanitarian law, within which we do our best in extremely complicated circumstances, to make sure that there will be no unexpected consequences and there will be no civilians injured."
The president emphasized that Israel is acting according to international law during the fighting in Gaza. "We warn, we call, we show, we send leaflets, we use all the means that international law allows us to keep people away, so that we can collapse this huge city of terror below, in people's homes, living rooms and bedrooms, mosques and shops and schools. Yesterday we destroyed a huge terrorist plant under the humanitarian corridor that Israel operates to help the citizens of Gaza."
At the end of his remarks, Herzog thanked Blinken for standing by Israel. "I want to thank the United States of America, President Biden and the administration, and you, Minister Blinken, for your moral call, for the fact that you stand firmly with Israel in this battle, which is clearly related to humanity and the values of the free world. Thank you very much."
Blinken: "There will be something to talk about, especially about the way forward"
The US Secretary of State thanked the President and described his visits to the neighboring countries in order to convey the message to Netanyahu and the Cabinet. "Thank you, Mr. President. As always, we greatly appreciate your leadership in these challenging times for Israel, for the countries of the region, and especially for people who are suffering as a result of the situation."
According to him, "I have just arrived from several countries in the region - Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia; and I want to share with the president what I heard from the leaders of the countries, and later today I will also share with the prime minister and the cabinet."
Finally, he said, "We will have the opportunity to sit down with some of the families of the abductees and discuss our unceasing efforts to bring them all back home to their families. There is much to talk about - especially the way forward. I look forward to these conversations, as always. Thank you very much."