Televisions typically filled with images of bloodshed and destruction in Gaza instead broadcast foreign lawyers and judges holding forth in lofty halls. In at least one cafe in the West Bank city of Ramallah, some cheered as they watched South Africa’s justice minister expound on the decades-long “systematic oppression and violence” of Palestinians. Others wept.

“I am amazed at the fact that the international community is trying to hold Israel accountable,” Assalah Mansour, a 25-year-old lawyer, said from the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The hearing in The Hague was the talk of the town Thursday, she said.

“For the first time, I felt like this case restored the Palestinian people’s hope in the international community,” Mansour said.