Palestinian Resistance Movement Rejects US Defense of Israel amid Gaza Genocide Conviction

Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishq condemned the statement, saying, “The US State Department’s claim that Israel did not commit genocide … is a blatant and rejected American attempt to anticipate the International Court of Justice’s decision, and to pressure for Israel to avoid conviction for committing massacres and genocide that are continuing to this day with full American support and partnership.”

“The American administration, which still refuses to stop the aggression against Gaza, by preventing the (UN) Security Council from taking a decision to stop the aggression against our Palestinian people, and its continued supply of weapons and ammunition to the occupation to bomb women and children, makes it a biased party and an accomplice in murders,” said Rishq.

The US "has no right to speak about values, morals, and international laws that are violated in broad daylight and in full view of the entire world," he added.

The Hamas statement preceded a Friday session by the International Court of Justice concerning requests for interim measures in the case filed by South Africa on Dec. 29 against Israel for violations of the UN convention during its attacks on Gaza.

On Thursday, the US State Department said the Biden administration expects Israel to comply with international law and take additional steps to protect civilians, claiming there is no truth to the allegations of genocide in Gaza.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, resulting in at least 26,083 Palestinians killed and 64,487 injured so far.

The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced, facing acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while over half of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.