Under international law, genocide is defined as committing one or more acts with the intention to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
There were angry scenes outside the ICJ's building, known as the Peace Palace, as Dutch police struggled to keep groups of Palestinian and Israeli supporters apart.
Red and white police tape has been placed outside the ICJ in an attempt to bring some semblance of order to the chaotic scenes outside.
In Gaza, more than 23,350 people - mostly women and children - have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, since the war began in the aftermath of Hamas's 7 October attacks on southern Israel. In those attacks some 1,300 people were killed - mainly civilians - and about 240 others taken hostage.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the accusations "atrocious and preposterous".
"We will be in the International Court of Justice and we will present proudly our case of using self-defence… under humanitarian law," he said.
Israel's delegation is expected to highlight its right to self-defence under international law - this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has no intention of permanently displacing the people of Gaza, or occupying the territory.
Unlike the International Criminal Court (ICC), the ICJ cannot prosecute individuals for crimes such as genocide, but its opinions carry weight with the UN and other international institutions.
@SomberPartis4nRepublican4mos4MO
No
Maybe Hamas should return the hostages and surrender?
How is it going for them in the meantime?
@OcelotAlexandraGreen4mos4MO
maybe Israel should never have violently expelled hundreds of thousands of Muslim & Christian Palestinian Arabs from their homes, imposed an apartheid regime for 57 yrs in the West Bank, brutalized & tortured an entire people for 75 yrs?
@9HZ8L7C 4mos4MO
Maybe Hamas shouldn't have tried to murder innocent Jews just for their religion?
@9J26YKHWomen’s Equality4mos4MO
The Palestinians should not be bombed and forced out of their homes by Israel. Around 5,000 children have been murdered, hospitals have been bombed as well as schools. I understand that Hamas is a terrorist group that holds the Gaza Strip, but there is no reason why thousands of children and women are being killed. The damage in Palestine compared to Israel is drastic. The Palestinians need our help from Hamas and Israel, even though America is a NATO ally of Israel.
@LobbyScarlettSocialist4mos4MO
yes
The Israel-Palestine conflict continues to draw international attention and criticism. The involvement of nations like South Africa and judicial bodies like the ICJ is crucial for a fair and just examination of the allegations and grievances on both sides.
@IntrepidB1partisanGreen4mos4MO
Yes, and also the United States
The accomplices were American politicians who provided Israel with aerial bombs, 2,000 pounds worth of aerial bombs, to bomb children and women in Gaza, but Blinken denied that genocide had taken place in Gaza.
@9HZXL8J4mos4MO
Israel is not a real nation and should be disbanded. That land belongs to Palestine.
@9CJ6CB64mos4MO
I think the main thing right now should be to help the refugees, we’ll worry about that later, but right now we need to contain the fighting or we’ll have more chaos than the Middle East has ever seen.
@9HZXR8Z4mos4MO
America should withdraw from the UN. The UN has become a pro Palestinian group that has no interest in following the rule of law. The "Palestinians" have been trying to force the state of Israel and the Jews into the sea, and ain't nobody saying a word about their act of genocide against the State of Israel or the Jewish people.
@9J28TZL4mos4MO
for a war to happen, collateral damage will occur, the United States did it in WWII with germany and Japan yet everyone somehow "didn't see that". collateral damage is a part of war.
@9HZX5FV4mos4MO
I believe both the Hamas terrorist militia and Israeli leaders should all be held accountable.
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