The Biden administration should formally intervene on Israel‘s side to thwart South Africa’s genocide case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the chairman of the GOP-led House Foreign Affairs Committee said this week.
In a letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas said South Africa’s allegation that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention in its war against Hamas serves only to “render hollow the meaning of genocide, and permit its use as a political tool by malign actors.”
In January, Mr. McCaul and more than 200 other members of Congress signed a bipartisan letter urging the White House to offer Israel “all appropriate support” in opposing the South African effort to sanction Israel at The Hague, Netherlands.
“Yet, over a month later, requisite support has not been provided, and the case nevertheless is proceeding rapidly,” Mr. McCaul wrote.
He noted that the Biden administration concluded South Africa’s legal claims are “meritless, counterproductive and completely without any basis in fact whatsoever” and that the Oct. 7 attack on Israel was committed by “a genocidal organization” that carried out “nothing less than the full range of atrocity crimes under international law.”
Now the congressman wants the White House to make that case at The Hague.
“These claims are a baseless abuse of international legal process and threaten to undermine the Genocide Convention,” Mr. McCaul wrote in Tuesday’s letter.
The U.S. should show the court — and the international community — that Israel’s actions in defending itself against Hamas plainly are not genocide. South Africa’s case fails to provide any substantive evidence to support its claims and relies on statements from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which employs people known to have participated in the Oct. 7 massacre, the congressman said.
“That Israel follows extensive procedures to prevent harm to civilians, continues to facilitate humanitarian assistance into Gaza, and remains committed to upholding international humanitarian law is beyond reproach,” Mr. McCaul said.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.