TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel will defend itself before the United Nation’s top court against charges that it has engaged in genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, officials said Tuesday, a rare engagement with the world body, which Israel often denounces as biased against it.
READ MORE: Israel pulls thousands of troops from Gaza to refocus combat on main southern city
South Africa launched the case Friday at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, saying the magnitude of death, destruction and humanitarian crisis in Gaza from the Israeli military campaign against Hamas meets the threshold of genocide under international law. South Africa asked the court to order Israel to halt its attacks in Gaza.
Israel dismisses international cases against it as unfair and biased and rarely cooperates. Its decision to respond to the charge signals that the government is concerned about the potential damage to its reputation.
Eylon Levy, an official in the Israeli…
