Israel refers to The Hague and accuses Hamas of planning an attack in Europe Israel-Hamas war

13 jan 2024 om 23:27

NU.nl regularly provides you with an overview of the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories. This time: Israel accuses Hamas of planning an attack in Stockholm. Moreover, Benjamin Netanyahu referred to The Hague in a television speech.

Developments in Israel and the Palestinian territories follow each other in quick succession. So we regularly list the latest events. Subscribe to the Gaza Conflict Update tag to receive notification when we publish another overview like this.

Ontvang regelmatig een overzicht van de ontwikkelingen in Gaza en Israël

“No one will stop us: not The Hague, not the axis of evil, no one,” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said on national television on Saturday. By The Hague, he was referring to the International Court of Justice, which is headquartered there.

Last Thursday, a case filed by South Africa began at the Peace Palace in The Hague. The state accuses Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in Gaza, where Hamas is fighting, but where thousands of Palestinian civilians have also been killed and almost the entire population has fled.

Israel describes this accusation as “ridiculous” and believes that Hamas is bent on genocide and must therefore defend itself.

1:14

Israel on the issue of genocide: The only solution is to eliminate Hamas

Israel accuses Hamas of planning an attack in Stockholm

According to Israel, Hamas prepared an attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm. Other unnamed locations in Europe are also believed to have been targets of the Palestinian militant movement, according to the Mossad intelligence service.

Last month, people with alleged ties to Hamas were arrested in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, and on Saturday Israel said more about what this network would look like across the continent. They were receiving orders from a command center in Lebanon.

Israel says it is working with foreign agencies to uncover the Hamas network. According to the German prosecutor, the man arrested in the Netherlands had also been a member of Hamas for years, just like the four who were arrested in Germany. The Danish Ministry of Justice had already stated that the three suspects had ties to Hamas.

Hamas has not yet responded to this accusation, but it has said in the past that it limits its attacks to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Mensen steken kaarsjes aan bij de Israëlische ambassade in Stockholm een paar dagen nadat de oorlog tussen Hamas en Israël is begonnen.

Foto: AFP

“One hundred days of death and mass destruction in Gaza”

The 100th day of the war in the Gaza Strip begins on Sunday. According to the head of the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, it was 100 days of “mass death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss and mourning.”

Lazzarini calls it “a stain on our common humanity.” He visited Gaza and says an entire generation of children have been “traumatized” and will take years to heal. He talks about “inhumane conditions” and says that diseases spread quickly there. “They are living an unlivable life, while the clock is quickly ticking towards famine.”

The Director-General of UNRWA also condemned the “heinous attacks” launched by Hamas on 7 October, which resulted in the killing of approximately 1,200 people and the taking of approximately 250 people hostage. “It has been 100 days of agony and fear for the hostages and their families.”