Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, decried two judges elected to the International Court of Justice, both of whom have taken positions against the Jewish state.
The Hague-based court, the highest judicial body at the United Nations, settles disputes between countries and gives advisory opinions on questions of international law.
It is where Israel is defending itself from South African charges of “genocide” and other war crimes in Gaza.
“The new judges at The Hague: one absurdly accused Israel of war crimes just one month after the Oct. 7 massacre, while another served as a legal adviser in proceedings against Israel,” Danon wrote on Wednesday.
The U.N. General Assembly and Security Council recently selected the judges.
Dapo Akande of the United Kingdom, Francois Alabrune of France, Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud of Jordan, Rena Lee of Singapore and Phoebe Okowa of Kenya were elected to the 15-member panel. They will serve nine-year terms starting on Feb. 6.
Hmoud and Okowa have already been serving on the ICJ bench, completing the terms vacated by others.
Hmoud is drawing Israel’s concern. An ICJ judge since May 2025, Hmoud represented Amman in a legal capacity, including in 2004 in an ICJ case involving Israel’s security barrier and in a 2024 file on Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.
Hmoud said at a U.N. Security Council briefing weeks after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks that Israel was already committing war crimes and other violations of international law. Hmoud went on to accuse the Jewish state of “genocide” and ethnic cleansing as the war against Hamas progressed.
Danon wrote the ICJ name with “justice” in quotes. The U.N. court “is expected to continue its politically motivated proceedings against Israel.”
Elevating judges to the bench “who have previously taken positions against Israel raises serious doubts about the court’s impartiality,” Danon stated. “Yet another example of the U.N.’s institutional bias against Israel.”
Okawa has been on the ICJ bench for two years. Prior to that, in February 2024, Okawa represented Namibia as a host of countries sought an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies in Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.
The court would rule Israel’s presence, including in Jerusalem’s Jewish quarter and in historical Jewish cities, as unlawful.
Danon did not mention Akande, who will join the bench in February. The British jurist served as legal counsel to Japan in the case leading to the 2024 ruling against Israel.
A decision in the genocide case against Israel is not expected for years. South Africa asked for a pause of 18 months based on the lack of evidence it had for the court, and agreed to an additional 18-month freeze thereafter to allow Israel to respond to whatever South Africa presents to the court.
That timeline would run until May 2029.
The court said this week that it would deliver a ruling on Nov. 19 in a separate genocide case brought by Gambia, which accuses Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya minority.
Some court watchers have expressed interest and concern that the judges could alter the legal definition of genocide in that case in order to set a new, lower standard, which could later be applied to Israel.
Ireland has already asked the ICJ to change the definition of genocide in the Israel case.
