“We commend the initiative of South Africa, Malaysia, Namibia, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Senegal, Honduras and Belize in establishing The Hague Group,” Hamas said in a statement.
Hamas, the Palestinian resistance organization, has stated that it views the formation of a coalition of nations to coordinate economic, political, and legal actions against Israel’s transgressions of international law as a significant step.
“We commend the initiative of South Africa, Malaysia, Namibia, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Senegal, Honduras and Belize in establishing The Hague Group,” it stated in a statement issued on Sunday.
The group was formed in order to promote the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the creation of an independent state, as well as to put an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands.
The initiative was referred to by Hamas as “an important and key step at the international level to end this racist and fascist occupation.”
“The Zionist occupation system cannot be ended until its costs are increased and it is isolated internationally, as was the case with South Africa’s apartheid state. Without bringing Zionist war criminals to trial internationally, as was done with Nazi and fascist leaders, there will be no deterrent to them,” it continued.
Hamas appealed to all nations “to join the group in support of humanity, which has been disregarded by the Zionist occupation system in Palestine, and to restore the credibility of international humanitarian law and human rights laws, which have been violated by the principles of genocide warfare.”
The Hague Group was established on Friday by nine nations to protect Palestinian rights.
A gathering organized by the worldwide political organization Progressive worldwide brought together representatives of the nations in The Hague, the Netherlands.
The group expressed its sorrow over the lives, livelihoods, communities, and cultural legacy that have been destroyed as a result of Israel’s genocidal activities against the Palestinian people in besieged Gaza and the other occupied Palestinian lands.
In response to such international crimes, it stated that it will not stand by and do nothing.
unified in opposition to genocide
South Africa started legal action against Israel in December 2023, claiming that the Genocide Convention had been broken in connection with the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Since then, a number of nations—including Nicaragua, Colombia, Cuba, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, and Turkey—have joined the case.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s murderous war has killed over 47,500 Palestinians, primarily women and children, and injured almost 111,000 more.
Over 11,000 individuals are still missing as a result of Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Nearly the whole population was displaced by the Israeli atrocities, which also resulted in a severe shortage of essential needs including food, water, medication, and electricity in the blockaded enclave.
In November of last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were the targets of arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
