Israel has accused South Africa of acting “as the legal arm of Hamas” after it again petitioned the ICJ to take measures against Israel.

“South Africa continues to act as the legal arm of Hamas in an attempt to undermine Israel’s inherent right to defend itself and its citizens, and to release all of the hostages,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said according to Al Jazeera.

“The repeated requests for provisional measures made by South Africa in order to assist Hamas are yet another cynical exploitation of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which has already twice rejected the baseless attempts to deny Israel its right and obligation of self-defence,” it said.

Clayson Monyela, a spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of International Relations & Cooperation, dismissed the accusations.

“South Africa has spelt out its concerns in its application to the ICJ. They [Israel] know what they are doing. It is absurd to keep saying that South Africa is acting on behalf of Hamas,” Monyela said.