ICJ to hear South Africa's genocide case against Israel next week

JOHANNESBURG

South Africa will appear before The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) next week to present its case against Israel’s alleged genocide in Gaza, a Foreign Ministry official said. The hearing is scheduled for Jan. 11 and 12.

“We will be appearing in court of the ICJ on the 11th of this month. We will be presenting our case as to why we think based on all the evidence including the special intent of the crime of genocide, we have found that based on many statements from leaders that a special intent is available,’’ Zane Dangor, director general of the Foreign Ministry, told national broadcaster SABC late Tuesday.

South Africa, which has backed the Palestinian cause for decades, launched the case late last month, requesting the ICJ to investigate alleged acts of genocide committed by Israel in Gaza, and declare on an urgent basis that Israel is in breach of its obligations in terms of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

It requested the court to ask Israel to immediately cease all acts and measures in breach of the obligations.

Israel will appear before the ICJ to contest South Africa's genocide accusations, an Israeli government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Anadolu recently published a book titled The Evidence, containing visuals that expose possibly criminal actions by Israel in Gaza. South Africa is using the photo evidence at the ICJ to argue its case.

The death toll from the Israeli assault on Gaza since the Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by Hamas has crossed 22,000, more than half of them women and children.

Most of the enclave’s population of more than 2.2 million remains under siege and bombardment, displaced, and short of food.