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On January 11, 2024, Izzat Al-Rishaq, member of the Political Bureau of Hamas, issued a statement in English and Arabic on Telegram praising the "the legal team of the State of South Africa at the International Court of Justice in The Hague," for their arguments in support of the people of Gaza.
South Africa, in its opening argument, asserted that Israel had committed "a crime of genocide against Palestinians," in Israel's ongoing military operation in Gaza, launched after the Hamas attack on October 7 against Israel.
In his statement, Al-Rishaq said: "We highly value and appreciate the plea made by the legal team of the State of South Africa at the International Court of Justice today in The Hague, and the arguments and the documented evidence it contained, proving before the entire world the involvement of the Zionist occupation [i.e., Israel] in committing crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing against our people in the Gaza Strip."
Al-Rishaq added: "The State of South Africa once again proves the genuineness of its principled position in support of our Palestinian people and the justice of their cause, and its rejection of the brutal crimes of the occupation against our people and their legitimate national rights."
"Historic Plea"
Praising the legal argument presented by South Africa's lawyers, he said: "We consider this historic plea that the world witnessed today to be a valid and reliable reason, from a state consistent with its principles and the principles of international law, to stop the occupation's aggression. Our people, children, and defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip, and then begin prosecuting the occupation for the crimes of genocide it is committing against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."
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