World's most famous Jewish lawyer Dershowitz: Ready to represent Israel at The Hague
Jewish-American lawyer speaks with KAN News about Israel's chances in 'war crimes' lawsuit
Despite Israel's denials, lawyer Alan Dershowitz hinted in a conversation with KAN news about his intention to represent Israel in the "war crimes" lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.
He said: "I cannot comment on private conversations I had with senior officials, but if I were young, I would come to serve in reserves, and today, at my age, I will contribute in my own way, in or out of court."
This was aired on Thursday morning during the program, "This Morning" on KAN public broadcasting.
During the conversation with the American-Jewish lawyer, Dershowitz was asked about Israel’s chances in the lawsuit that South Africa filed against it a week ago, with charges of genocide.
"I hope that the statements of politicians that appear in the claim will be ruled irrelevant concerning actions Israel has taken during the war, which allegedly violate international law,” he said.
Dershowitz added: "If the Palestinians' claim is proven to be correct, namely that more than 20,000 Palestinians were killed by the IDF bombings, and Israel's claim is also proven to be correct, which is that approximately 7,000 terrorists and terror operatives were killed, then the ratio will be about two to one. Such a ratio between the innocent civilians and those who are not, is much better than the ratio of deaths in other conflicts around the world."
About one week ago, South Africa filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice, claiming that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. In response to the lawsuit, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement: "Blood libel and collaboration with a terrorist organization."
At the beginning of the war, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan told Reuters that the court has jurisdiction over possible war crimes committed by Hamas in Israel, as well as crimes committed against Israelis in the Gaza Strip, even though Israel is not a member of the court. "It’s horrifying what’s happening, what we’re seeing on our television screens. There must be a legal process to determine criminal responsibility," Khan said.
According to Reuters, the Palestinian territories, which include the Gaza Strip, fall within the court's jurisdiction. Therefore, it has the authority to bring Hamas to justice because it controls the Gaza Strip.
Amichai Stein is a political correspondent for KAN 11.
