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Whataboutism and lies
Netanyahu says ICJ case shows an ‘upside-down world’
Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has blasted the opening of the genocide case against his country at the ICJ, saying that the procedure shows an “upside-down world” in which Israel is “fighting terrorists, fighting lies”.
“The hypocrisy of South Africa screams to the heavens,” Netanyahu said. “Where was South Africa when millions were killed and displaced in Syria and Yemen by Hamas’s partners?” “We will continue to maintain our right to defend ourselves and secure our future until total victory,” he added.
Syria
https://www.sanews.gov.za/africa/sa-condemns-syrian-killings
South Africa has reiterated its condemnation of the killing of Syrian people and has once again called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, says Justice and Constitutional Development Deputy Minister Andries Nel.
Speaking in Geneva at the 19th Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council on the deteriorating human rights situation in Syria, Nel said the country condemned the killings of men, women and children in the Syrian village of El-Houleh.
Partners?
https://www.dw.com/en/what-role-does-syria-play-in-the-hamas-israel-conflict/a-67399322
Late last year (2022), after Assad was invited back to the Arab League after a decade's suspension, Hamas and the Syrian regime reconciled too. The Arab League had suspended Syria because of the civil war but in 2022, saw no other solution but to deal directly with the Assad government again in order to maintain regional stability.
Still, there are still many signs that Hamas and Assad do not trust one another, Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at British security-focused think tank, the Royal United Services Institute, wrote in an analysis last week.
Yemen
South Africa also condemned the killings in Yemen
https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/south-africa-situation-yemen-07-dec-2017
However there is some valid criticism since South Africa did keep selling arms to Yemen in 2021
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/4/16/south-africa-is-putting-profit-before-yemeni-lives
But not an argument that would make Israel look any better as they did the same...
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-chief-acknowledges-long-claimed-weapons-supply-to-syrian-rebels/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-arms-sales-doubled-in-a-decade-hit-new-record-of-12-5-billion-in-2022/
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2023-10-02/ty-article/.premium/number-of-countries-israel-sells-arms-and-cyber-to-spikes/0000018a-ea37-d3af-a3ce-ebf75d210000
Last year, Israel approved the marketing of drones to 145 different countries, with a 25% increase in the number of countries to which intelligence and cyber systems were sold
Hamas has no partners in Yemen, another conflict with a long history
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/yemen-crisis
The eight-year-old conflict in Yemen is between the internationally recognized government, which is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, and Houthi rebels supported by Iran. Yemen has long struggled with religious and cultural differences between its north and south and the legacy of European colonialism.
https://www.ispionline.it/en/publication/why-hamas-israel-war-can-be-a-turning-point-for-yemens-houthis-149895
Despite being part of the Iranian armed constellation in the Middle East, the relationship between the Houthis and Hamas is not tight and is mainly driven by occasional shared interests. Despite confessional differences (the Houthis are Zaydi Shia, Hamas is Sunni), they are both in Tehran’s orbit: the evidence that political convergences often play a more decisive role in alliance-making than sectarian ones.
A known tactic, attack the messenger
Meanwhile
Daily death toll in Gaza higher than all major 21st century conflicts: Oxfam
Oxfam says that the daily death toll of Palestinians in Israel’s war on Gaza surpasses that of any other major conflict in the 21st century.
“Israel’s military is killing Palestinians at an average rate of 250 people a day, which massively exceeds the daily death toll of any other major conflict of recent years,” Oxfam said in a statement.
The international aid organisation provided a list of the average daily death tolls in various conflicts since the turn of the century: 96.5 in Syria, 51.6 in Sudan, 50.8 in Iraq, 43.9 in Ukraine, 23.8 in Afghanistan, and 15.8 in Yemen.
It said the lives of Palestinians in Gaza are at risk due to hunger, diseases and cold, as well as Israeli bombardments, and reiterated that only 10 percent of the needed food can enter the enclave.
Tomorrow Israel can bring its defense before the court.
