D6Isaac Herzog — President of Israel
- “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible” — the head of state, on camera.
- Quoted back at the World Court as evidence of intent at the top.
- His defense: taken out of context.
At a 12 October 2023 press briefing, President Isaac Herzog said of Gaza that "it is an entire nation out there that is responsible" and that "this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved — it's absolutely not true," adding that Gazans "could have risen up" against "that evil regime" (ITV News, HuffPost, Times of Israel). South Africa's 29 December 2023 ICJ genocide application cited the remarks as evidence of genocidal intent at the highest level of the state, and the ICJ's 26 January 2024 provisional-measures order took note of "statements made by Mr Isaac Herzog, President of Israel, on 12 October 2023" among dehumanizing remarks by senior officials; Herzog faces no individual proceeding and says the court "twisted my words," calling the case "a blood libel."
The record — 16 sources
Date, publication and headline for each source, as the source itself published them. Sorted by publication date. 16 of 16 dated; a blank means the publisher's page didn't expose it, and we don't guess.