THE Foreign Secretary has said he believes South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging that Israel is committing genocide is "wrong" and "unhelpful".
David Cameron also said it is “nonsense” to suggest Israel has the intent to commit genocide.
He made the comments appearing on Sky News Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.
When asked if Israel has a case to answer in the International Court of Justice, Cameron said: “No, I absolutely don’t. I think the South African Action is wrong, I think it is unhelpful, I think it shouldn’t be happening.
“Now of course I am not a lawyer, but they are talking here about genocide, they are taking this case on the basis on genocide and to prove that you have got to prove that there was intent.
“I take the view that Israel is acting in self defence after the appalling attack on October 7.
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“But even if you take a different view to my view, to look at Israel, a democracy, a country with the rule of law, a country with armed forces that are committed to obeying the rule of law, to say that that country, that leadership, that armed forces, that they have intent to commit genocide, I think that is nonsense, I think that is wrong.”
It comes as more than 30 Palestinians, including children, were killed in two Israeli air strikes overnight into Saturday in the Gaza Strip, officials have said.
Video provided by Gaza’s civil defence department showed rescue workers searching through the rubble of a home in Gaza City by flashlight early on Saturday after it was hit by an Israeli attack.
Footage showed them carrying a young girl wrapped in blankets with injuries to her face and at least two other children who appeared dead. A boy covered in dust winced as he was loaded into an ambulance.
The attack on the home in the Daraj area killed at least 20 people in total, according to civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal.
Another strike near the southern city of Rafah on the Egyptian border killed at least 13 people, including two children.
The bodies of those killed, primarily from a displaced family from central Gaza, were taken to the city’s Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital where they were seen by an Associated Press reporter.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Saturday that 135 Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours, bringing the overall toll of the war to 23,843.
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The count does not differentiate between combatants and civilians, but the ministry has said about two-thirds of the dead are women and children. The ministry said the total number of war-wounded surpassed 60,000.
Israel has argued Hamas is responsible for the high civilian casualties, saying its fighters make use of civilian buildings and launch attacks from densely populated urban areas.
The lack of adequate humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza forms part of South Africa’s case that opened this week at the International Court of Justice in The Hague accusing Israel of genocide.
In its complaint, South Africa argues Israel has failed to ensure that the medical needs of Palestinians are met and accuses Israel of “ directly attacking Palestinian hospitals, ambulances and other healthcare facilities in Gaza”.
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