OTTAWA — Canada supports the International Court of Justice and is "watching carefully" as it deliberates on an allegation of genocide against Israel, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
But he would not indicate whether Canada agrees with the allegation, or even if Canada would recognize the court's ruling if it does find Israel to be guilty of genocide.
"I'm not going to comment on what could be an eventual finding by a process that we support as it unfolds," Trudeau said at a news conference in New Brunswick.
The highest court of the United Nations held two days of public hearings last week as South Africa made the case that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
South Africa said while it condemns Hamas for its brutal attack in Israel in October, there is no justification for the scale of Israel's response in Gaza. It has asked the court to order Israel to cease its assault on the Palestinian territory.
Israel rejected the genocide claim outright and argued in the court that South Africa's claim was "distorted" and that it has the right to defend itself against Hamas.
Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostage in a series of attacks in Southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel responded with tremendous force in Gaza, insisting its attacks are intended to take out Hamas and its supporters, not civilians.
It also cut off supply deliveries and electricity leading to a humanitarian crisis and desperate pleas for food, medicine and water. Limited humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza over the last 100 days.
On Wednesday, in a deal brokered by France and Qatar, shipments of medicine were delivered to Gaza for both the hostages and Palestinians.
The health ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, says more than 24,000 people in the territory have been killed in the conflict. It does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas fighters.
More than 100 Israeli hostages were released during a temporary ceasefire in November, but Israel has said it believes more than 100 remain captive in Gaza and at least two dozen have died while being held hostage.
A doctor who treated some of the released hostages told The Associated Press that at least 10 men and women among those freed were sexually assaulted or abused, but did not provide further details.
As soon as Thursday, a civil commission in Israel is expected to report on its investigation into the extent of sexual violence Hamas committed on Oct. 7.
South Africa says more than 50 countries support its case, including all 22 members of the Arab League, while most of Israel's Western allies have either stayed neutral or rejected the case outright.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the genocide allegation "meritless" and said the South African case is particularly troubling because Hamas is a terrorist organization that openly calls for both the destruction of Israel and the annihilation of Jews.
Canada, which designated Hamas as a terrorist organization in 2002, did not issue a statement on the case until both South Africa and Israel had made their arguments before the court.
On Jan. 12, when asked about Canada's position at a news conference, Trudeau said Canada supports the court but that did not mean it supported the "premise" of South Africa's case.
In a statement published later that same day, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly repeated the same statement but also said the case for genocide requires compelling legal evidence and that the bar to prove genocide is quite high.
Trudeau insisted Wednesday that those statements were "very, very clear," but said he was happy to repeat them.
"Canada has always supported the international rules-based order and the structures around international law, including and especially the International Court of Justice," he said.
"We have direct engagement in five different cases before the ICJ right now because we believe in the work it does. At the same time, our support for the ICJ and its processes does not mean that we accept the premise of the case brought forward by South Africa and we are watching carefully as all the steps unfold."
Many organizations said they felt Canada's position was either unclear or constituted an indirect backing of Israel.
In a statement Tuesday night, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an advocacy group for Jewish federations in Canada, called Canada's position "confusing and ambiguous."
"As were other allies of Israel, the government of Canada should have been clear and unequivocal in their condemnation of South Africa's accusations," the statement said.
"After all, if Canada truly stands against terror, against antisemitism, and with international law, it should denounce the application and issue a response similar to those of U.S. and Germany."
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East said Jan. 12 it was "outraged" by Canada's refusal to back South Africa.
"Disagreeing with the 'premise' of such allegations, while failing to disprove any of South Africa’s arguments, is a grave and shocking abdication of Canada’s responsibilities under the Genocide Convention," the organization said.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took a clear stance last week, siding with Israel in rejecting South Africa's allegations of genocide outright.
"I find it incredible these countries have not accused Hamas of genocide when it's in Hamas's charter that they want to commit genocide against Israel," he said on Friday.
Hamas' founding covenant calls for the annihilation of Israel.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2024.
Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press
