WATCH | ‘We’re not stopping’: Lamola on SA’s genocide case against Israel

Lamola

Cape Town – South Africa remains committed to pursuing its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola told Parliament.

The country filed an 84-page application in December 2023, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza and has since sought interim measures four times.

Although the ICJ granted three orders in South Africa’s favour, they have not stopped Israel’s military actions or eased the humanitarian crisis.

Lamola said the case goes beyond Israel and Palestine, stressing South Africa’s role in defending human rights and international law in conflicts worldwide.

“South Africa will continue to act within the institutions of global governance to protect the rights, including the fundamental right to life, in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and any part of the world where there are conflicts including in Gaza where Palestinians continue to remain at urgent risk including from Israeli military assault, and to obtain the fair and equal application of international law to all, in the interest of our collective humanity,” the minister said.

“Our actions and approach resonate with the views of the global majority, including international civil society groups as well as Israeli and Palestinian analysts.

“We have also joined initiatives such as The Hague Group which was established to protect and uphold international obligations to end the illegal Israeli occupation and to support the realisation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including to self-determination and to independence in a sovereign State of Palestine.”

Several countries, including Brazil, Spain, Turkey and Ireland, have applied to intervene in the case.

In April 2025, South Africa argued before the ICJ that Israel is deliberately starving Gaza by blocking humanitarian aid. Israel did not attend the hearings.

The war has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians since October 2023, while over 1,100 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas attacks of 7 October. Israel has tightly restricted aid to Gaza’s 2.4 million people, halting deliveries since March 2025.

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