JERUSALEM, Jan 12, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed South Africa on Thursday for launching a landmark genocide case against Israel at the top UN court, saying it was Israel that was fighting "genocide" committed by Hamas.

"The State of Israel is accused of genocide at a time when it is fighting genocide," Netanyahu said in a statement after South Africa lodged an urgent appeal at the International Court of Justice accusing it of breaching the UN Genocide Convention.

"A terrorist organisation carried out the worst crime against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and now someone comes to defend it in the name of the Holocaust? What brazen gall. The world is upside down."