World has 'responsibility' to back South Africa's genocide lawsuit against Israel: Slovenian MEP

The world has a "responsibility" to support South Africa's genocide case against Israel as it backed Ukraine against Russia, a Slovenian member of the European Parliament said on Sunday.

Matjaz Nemec's remarks came during his keynote speech in a ceremony that marked the 82nd anniversary of the Battle of Drazgose, a World War II battle in present-day Slovenia that resulted in the Nazis destroying a village and killing dozens of civilians.

"What we are witnessing in Gaza is nothing more than an attempt to destroy a nation by the occupier," Nemec warned, asking: "How long will Europe and the world continue to watch the erasure of a nation before our eyes? How far is tolerance for the apocalypse of the sea, bombings of hospitals and refugee camps?"

"As we joined the Ukrainian action against Russia in its aggression against Ukraine, it is our responsibility to now join the activities of the Republic of South Africa and its action against Israel," he said, stressing that the war in Gaza amounts to "genocide."

He underlined that both Palestinians and Israelis have the right to live without fear and in peace, on their land, in respect and co-existence.

"No one can deny the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, just as no one could deny us this right," he said. "That is why Slovenia must continue to strive for a peace process that should lead to the recognition of an independent Palestine."

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group which Tel Aviv claims killed 1,200 people in Israel.

At least 23,968 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 60,582 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

According to the UN, 85% of the population of Gaza is already internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.

On Dec. 29, South Africa filed the case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, submitting photo evidence captured by the Turkish global news agency Anadolu that clearly shows Israel committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

The public hearings in the case against Israel began on Thursday.