Launch of Hague Group ‘key step to ending Israeli occupation’: Hamas

GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Sunday that it considered the establishment of an alliance of countries aimed at coordinating legal, diplomatic and economic measures against Israel’s violations of international law an important step.

“We commend the initiative of South Africa, Malaysia, Namibia, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Senegal, Honduras and Belize in establishing The Hague Group,” it said in a statement.

The formation of the group is aimed at ending Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands and supporting the right of its people to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state.

Hamas described the initiative as “an important and key step at the international level to end this racist and fascist occupation.”

“There will be no end to the Zionist occupation system without raising its cost and isolating it globally, as was done with the apartheid regime in South Africa. There will be no deterrent to Zionist war criminals without achieving international justice against them, just as was done with Nazi and fascist leaders,” it added.

Hamas called on the countries of the world “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.”

Nine countries on Friday announced the formation of The Hague Group to defend Palestinian rights.

Representatives of the countries gathered in The Hague, the Netherlands at a meeting hosted by Progressive International, an international political organization.

The group said it is grieving over the lives, livelihoods, communities and cultural heritage lost due to Israel’s genocidal actions in the Gaza Strip and the remainder of the Occupied Palestinian Territory against the Palestinian people.

It noted that it is refusing to remain passive in the face of such international crimes.

In December 2023, South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel, claiming violations of the Genocide Convention in relation to Palestinians in Gaza. Several countries have since joined the case including Nicaragua, Colombia, Cuba, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain and Türkiye.

Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 47,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.

The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst-ever global humanitarian disasters.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.