South Africa’s government says it has filed a dossier with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) containing “evidence” of Israel committing genocide in its conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Pretoria submitted the over 750-page memorial document, as well as exhibits and annexes totaling over 4,000 pages, to the ICJ on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
It provides proof that the Israeli government “violated the genocide convention by promoting the destruction of Palestinians living in Gaza” and “physically killing them with an assortment of destructive weapons,” the ministry stated.
“The filing of this memorial takes place at a time when Israel is intensifying the killing of civilians in Gaza and now seems intent to follow a similar path of destruction in Lebanon,” it added.
South Africa filed a case with The Hague-based ICJ back in December, alleging that Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 surprise attack by Hamas against the Jewish state is “genocidal in character.” Israel declared war on Hamas after a series of raids by the Gaza-based militant group, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis. More than a year into the hostilities, over 42,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 97,000 wounded in operations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to the enclave’s health officials.
In its interim rulings, the top UN court ordered Israel to take all necessary steps to prevent any acts that could be considered war crimes. In July, the ICJ declared West Jerusalem’s occupation of Palestinian territory, including Gaza and the West Bank, as unlawful.
The IDF has since intensified its attacks on civilians in Gaza and their natural resources, according to independent human rights experts cited by the UN. Around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has been displaced, UN estimates show.
The IDF has dismissed allegations of committing war crimes, arguing that Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields.
South Africa, a longstanding supporter of Palestinian independence, accuses Israel of disregarding the court’s orders and aiming to “depopulate Gaza through mass death and forced displacement.”
“The Palestinian struggle against imperialism, Israeli Apartheid and settler colonialism is the daily reality of the Palestinian people. Since 1948, they have faced various forms of colonisation, often backed by historical colonial powers,” Africa’s most advanced economy stated on Monday.
Pretoria has stated that its legal action against the Israeli government is “primarily to stop a genocide in Palestine peacefully, through holding Israel accountable in the institutions set up for this very purpose by the United Nations.”
Several countries, including Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Palestine, Türkiye, Spain, and Mexico, have all filed to join South Africa’s case against the Israeli government.