ISRAEL vowed today to defend itself before the United Nations’ top court against South African charges that it has engaged in a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

Eylon Levy, an official in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sought to smear South Africa, which has brought the case, by accusing it of “giving political and legal cover” to the October 7 Hamas raid that triggered Israel’s current military campaign.

“The state of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at The Hague to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” he said.