South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday praised the International Court of Justice for essentially ruling that its case against Israel had merit.
South Africa is disappointed the ICJ did not order an immediate cease-fire, but the court did order Israel to take measures to avoid more deaths in Gaza and allow humanitarian access.
A significant majority of the 17 ICJ judges in The Hague ruled South Africa has a plausible case against Israel under the international Genocide Convention.
However, the ruling by the top U.N. court involves provisional measures only, with a full verdict on the genocide allegation expected to take years.
The ICJ essentially ordered Israel to make every effort to avoid killing Palestinians and prevent acts of genocide, as well as to allow aid into Gaza.
Since the advent of democracy in 1994 and the presidency of the late Nelson Mandela, South Africa has been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause.
The governing African National Congress (ANC) party, which waged an armed struggle against South Africa’s former white apartheid government, has always said it sees parallels in the situation of the Palestinians.
In a televised address to the nation after the court ruling Friday, Ramaphosa said that is why South Africa took Israel to the ICJ earlier this month.
“Some have told us that we should mind our own business and not get involved in the affairs of other countries,” Ramaphosa said. “Others have said it was not our place. And yet it is very much our place as the people who know too well the pain of dispossession, discrimination, state-sponsored violence — we are also a people who were the victims of the crime of apartheid.”
Israel has slammed South Africa’s case as “antisemitic” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the country would “continue to defend ourselves and our citizens while adhering to international law.” He said the war would continue until “absolute victory.”
But Ramaphosa said Israel must respect the ruling.
“This order is binding on Israel and must be respected by all states that are party to the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide,” he said.
The United States, also a party to the convention, is one of Israel’s main supporters.
After the ruling, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said, "We continue to believe that allegations of genocide are unfounded and note the court did not make a finding about genocide or call for a cease-fire in its ruling."
Mia Swart, a visiting international law professor at South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand, said the ruling might prove to be merely symbolic.
“The provisional measures ordered by the ICJ today certainly represent a victory of sorts for the South African Department of International Relations,” she said. “It also is a morale-boosting judgment for South Africa. … However, one feels very skeptical about the possibility of implementation. It looks very unlikely that Israel will implement the judgment.”
While the order is legally binding, there is no enforcement mechanism. An ICJ ruling against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was never adhered to.
The war between Israel and Hamas broke out after fighters for the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel on October 7. Some 1,200 people were killed and 250 kidnapped. Since Israel started bombarding the Gaza strip, some 26,000 Palestinians have been killed according to the Gaza health authority.
