By Kouthar Sambo
The Israeli government appointed the former head of its Supreme Court, Aharon Barak, to form part of the panel of 15 judges that will hear South Africa’s case as the country takes Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its war crimes.
South Africa would have to prove how Israel’s actions in Gaza are genocidal. The hearing is set to take place on Thursday and Friday, 11th to 12th January.
Speaking on VOC’s Drive Time on Tuesday, Lawyer and Human Rights Defender in the West Bank Mohammed Khatib said it is no surprise that Israel chose someone who advocates the occupation of Palestinians.
“I had the chance to know this judge through a case he was leading as my village was affected by the war back in 2005, and the Israeli Supreme Court has Barak overlooking the case. And I can tell you that from our cases and other cases in the West Bank, his job is to protect the Israeli colonisation policies,” explained Khatib.
“He is a Zionist patriot as he believes he can protect the Israelis from reaching the national courts by making his own decisions and playing between the Israeli policy and needs, as well as the international needs.”
On one side, he wants to support the “Israeli colonisation” elaborated Khatib, but at the same time, he wants to prevent the leaders of Israel from reaching the international courts.
Interestingly, the 87-year-old jurist is also a Holocaust survivor, and his parents are believed to have moved to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1947, a year before the creation of the state of Israel.
In response to this, Khatib relayed that the Zionist movement is always the one benefiting from the Holocaust history and ensuring what happened in the past “is reflected in the future.”
It is believed that this diplomat judge, who supports the ongoing attacks in Gaza, has long supported war crimes in Gaza. According to media reports, after 7th October, he also told The Globe and Mail in November that “It may be proportional to kill five innocent kids to target their leader.”
“By nominating this judge, they are trying to play in this ironic perspective and trying to show that they are dominating this case. But he, has not denied that he is a Zionist who believed in the colonisation policies and the control of Palestinian land,” added Khatib.
It is no secret that Barak also prompted the cutting of fuel in the Gaza Strip due to his suspicions of Palestinian fighters using the fuel. However, this only impacted dozens of innocent Palestinian civilians.
“The only thing that makes Barak accept this nomination as one of the judges to hear South Africa’s case, is he believes as he has openly vocalized his support for Israel,” reiterated Khatib.
Photo: International Court of Justice (ICJ)/Facebook
