Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian group hold rival rallies of solidarity outside International Court of Justice. US and Germany both deny the charges Israel denies.

On Thursday, 17 black-robed international judges entered the Palace of Peace of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. This was to open hearings that were initiated by South Africa, against Israel, over charges of “genocide”, against Palestinians, during the ongoing Gaza war.

The bench consists of 15 permanent judges, and two ad hoc ones from Israel and South Africa – former Israeli Supreme Court President Aharon barak and former South African deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke. They were sworn in as judges by ICJ president Judge Joan Donoghue.

Donoghue read out the accusations made by South Africa against Israel in its application under the Genocide Convention. A court official noted that South Africa was initially asking the International Court of Justice for an immediate suspension of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza Strip as a first step in a lawsuit that will likely take years to settle.

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Before the proceedings, hundreds of pro Israel and pro Palestinian demonstrators gathered at The Hague in a dueling solidarity rally on a cold morning amid heavy police presence.

The pro-Israel marchers included members of the local Jewish community and activists from Christian Zionist groups. They were to march from a central location in The Hague to the ICJ where they would demonstrate in front an exhibition highlighting Israel hostages being held by Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.

Raul Berghaus is an activist in Amsterdam who said Israel was not committing genocide. He said that the Palestinian terror group Hamas is responsible for such crimes.

Berghaus said, “Israel has a right to defend itself, and unfortunately the only way it can do this is by doing what it’s currently doing.” “Israel is only country that warns civilians of their duty to leave.”

Outside the court, dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered. Many waved Palestinian flags while calling for a truce. Other signs read “Stop the Genocide”, “From the River To the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free”.

The war began with the Hamas terror attack on October 7, in which 1,200 people died, mostly civilians, at home and a music festival. Over 240 hostages were taken to Gaza, where they were held captive and subjected cruelly abused. This is considered the worst Jewish massacre since the Holocaust.

Israel’s response to the attack was a massive airstrike and ground offensive to destroy Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for the past seven years, and to free the captured prisoners, of whom 132 are still believed to be in the Strip.

Hamas’ Gaza-based health ministry claims that over 23,000 people were killed during the fighting. These figures are not independently verified and include civilians as well as Hamas members, who may have died in Gaza due to misfired rockets by terror groups. IDF claims to have killed more than 8,500 terrorists in Gaza and about 1,000 in Israel on October 7th.

South Africa made an urgent plea to the IJC, amidst the fighting to force Israel “immediately” to suspend its military operations in Gaza. Israel has categorically denied the allegations, and Isaac Herzog dismissed the claims of genocide as “atrocious” on Wednesday.

Israel has won the support of key allies the US and Germany ahead of the hearing.

“Allegations of Israel committing genocide is unfounded.” Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the US State Department said that those who violently attack Israel are the ones who openly call to annihilate Israel and murder Jews in mass numbers.

He added that “Genocide” is the most heinous act any entity or person can commit. Such allegations should be made only with the greatest care.

“Israel has every right to defend itself from Hamas’s terror acts — acts which Hamas has promised to repeat until Israel is destroyed. Israel operates in a very challenging environment, in Gaza. Hamas hides behind civilians and embeds themselves in the urban battlefield.

Miller reiterated his condemnation for Hamas’ terror attack on October 7, but said that the US expects Israel to “comply with humanitarian law international in its operations against Hamas.”

He also emphasized the feeling in Washington, that the IDF had not done enough to protect civilians thus far. He called on Israel to “look at more ways to prevent harm to civilians and to investigate credible accusations of violations of humanitarian international law when they occur.”

Miller appeared to refer to US displeasure over calls by Israeli lawmakers for collective punishment, and mass displacement of Palestinians. This helped South Africa build its case against Israel. The State Department spokesperson said, “We continue condemning dehumanizing language on all sides.”

Annalena Bärbock, the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, also denied that Israel is committing genocide.

“It’s very important for me to stress that you must always keep in mind the specifics of what is going on. She said: “First, the fact is that the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 in the most brutal manner, murdering people, raping women, and taking them hostage in an barbaric fashion,” she said.

She said that Israel was acting in self-defense to protect itself against Hamas terrorists. However, they did not include the civilian population, as the target for their self-defense. They have been very clear about this.

Israel has a powerful legal team that defends its military operation, despite the fact that it normally dismisses UN tribunals and international tribunals for being unfair and biased.

“I believe they are here because they wish to be exonerated, and they think that they can successfully defend themselves against the accusations of genocide,” Juliette McIntyre said. She is an expert in international law from the University of South Australia.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, released a video Wednesday night to defend his country’s action.

He said that Israel had no intention to permanently occupy Gaza or displace its civilian population. “Israel is not fighting the Palestinian people, but Hamas terrorists. We are in compliance with international law.”

He stated that the Israeli military “is doing its utmost in order to minimize civilian deaths, while Hamas aims to maximize civilian deaths by using Palestinian civilians to act as human shields.”

In a press release issued after the lawsuit was filed in late last year