The Hague: It is not from October last year, but for 76 years, Palestinians were suffering violence and destruction, South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola stated before the International Court of Justice.
He said that Palestinians were suffering since 1948, Israel Times reported.
“The violence and the destruction in Palestine did not begin on October 7, they have experienced violence for the last 76 years,” Israel Times quoted Lamola.
He continued that Israel had taken control of land crossings and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip since 2004. Israel is operating the entry points, and movement through them is strictly prohibited. Gaza shares a land crossing with Egypt.
The South African minister said that Gaza is still considered to be under occupation by international law. He said that the state of South Africa unilaterally condemned Hamas targeting civilians and taking hostages on October 7, 2023. However, no attack can justify breaches to the convention “whether as a matter of law or morality”, the Israel Times quoted the minister.
In the end, Lamola concluded his statement by invoking a Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement, reminding that the moral arc of the universe is long but bends towards justice.
Hamas’s insurgence on October 7 last year triggered the war in Gaza.
Since the war started, there were 23,000 people killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, as of January 9. In Israel, the death toll is 1,140. Estimate of death toll of journalists and media persons in Palestine soil since the war started is around 76. On Tuesday, World Health Organisation warned that Gaza’s healthcare system might collapse soon since only a third of the country’s hospitals are working and most of them are operating partly.