Dershowitz, a former Harvard law professor, is a defense lawyer who has represented such individuals as OJ Simpson and former US President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants American lawyer Alan Dershowitz to represent Israel at the International Court of Justice hearing next week, Barak David, who reports for AXIOS, wrote on his X account on Monday.
Israeli officials say Netanyahu wants Alan Dershowitz to represent Israel at the @CIJ_ICJ hearing next week about South Africa’s accusation that it is conducting genocide in Gaza. I called @AlanDersh who didn’t deny and said: “I can’t comment about it at this time”
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) January 2, 2024
On December 29, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the ICJ, requesting that the court indicate ‘provisional measures’.
In an interview with the Palestine Chronicle, international law expert, Dr. Triestino Mariniello, explained that, “South Africa’s application requests the court to indicate provisional measures”, which “are binding and they are aimed at the protection of the human rights of Palestinians, including the cessation of fire.”
On December 29, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the ICJ, requesting that the court indicate ‘provisional measures’.
In an interview with the Palestine Chronicle, international law expert, Dr. Triestino Mariniello, explained that, “South Africa’s application requests the court to indicate provisional measures”, which “are binding and they are aimed at the protection of the human rights of Palestinians, including the cessation of fire.”
What You Must Know about the ICJ Case against Israel – Intl. Law Expert Explains
According to an ICJ press release on December 29, the application “alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Eylon Levy, a spokesman for the Israeli government, told reporters on Monday that Israel has decided to “appear before the International Court of Justice at The Hague to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel.”
Enter Dershowitz
Dershowitz, a former Harvard law professor, is a defense lawyer who has represented such individuals as OJ Simpson and former US President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial.
Known to be a staunch supporter of Israel, Dershowitz did not confirm whether he will or will not represent Israel before the ICJ.
However, two days after Ravid’s post, hundreds of previously sealed papers from a lawsuit involving the infamous Jeffrey Epstein included serious allegations against Dershowitz, among others, including many pro-Israel personalities.
Citing the unsealed court documents, the British Independent newspaper reported that Dershowitz is accused of forcing an underage girl, referred to as ‘Jane Doe3’, to have sex with him on several occasions.
Moreover, ”The filings by attorneys for Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, in which Mr Dershowitz is named a total of 137 times, also allege that he witnessed other girls being abused,” according to The Independent.
🧵Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly wants controversial lawyer Alan Dershowitz to defend Israel from charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice. pic.twitter.com/VFnpbR7sdC
— MintPress News (@MintPressNews) January 5, 2024
“At the centre of some of the most serious allegations was Epstein’s former attorney Mr Dershowitz, who had claimed earlier this week while appearing on NewsNation that he wanted every last document and ‘piece of paper’ to be publicly released – asserting that it would prove that he ‘did nothing wrong’,” The Independent reported.
Dershowitz reportedly published a 31-minute video to defend himself from the allegations.
“We are so tempted to just assume that if a person’s name is on a list, oh, there must be something wrong,” he said in the video, adding that it is “important to judge complicity, guilt, responsibility on an individual basis.”
However, this is not the first time the 85-year-old lawyer is linked to the Epstein scandal. In 2015, Dershowitz also denied allegations of having sex with an under-age girl.
Dershowitz has defended Israel’s actions against the Palestinians for many years. One of his many statements on the issue was in 2019, when he wrote in an article for The Hill that “the suffering of Palestinians, which does not compare to the suffering of many other groups, has been largely inflicted by themselves”.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
