South Africans rally in support of ‘genocide’ case against Israel

CAPE TOWN  – Dozens of people took to the streets in Cape Town on Thursday in one of several demonstrations planned across South Africa in sup­port of the government’s “genocide” case against Is­rael. Lawyers for Pretoria are presenting their case at the UN’s top court in The Hague, where South Africa lodged an urgent appeal to force Israel to “immedi­ately suspend” its military operations in Gaza. Stand­ing on the steps of the High Court in the southwestern port city of Cape Town, pro-Palestinian demonstrators held signs reading “Stop the genocide” and “Boycott apartheid Israel”.

“Free Palestine,” some chanted. “The important issue for us is that there is a ceasefire, that military ac­tions are stopped in Gaza,” said Seehaam Samaai, a lawyer in attendance. 

Further rallies are planned in Cape Town and other cities. Robed officials from South Africa and Is­rael are going head-to-head before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Netherlands. South Africa argues that Israel is break­ing its commitments under the UN Genocide Conven­tion, alleging the bombing and invasion of Gaza is “in­tended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian na­tional, racial and ethnical group”. “No armed attack on a state territory no matter how serious… can provide justification for or defend breaches of the conven­tion,” Justice Minister Ron­ald Lamola told the court.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has dismissed the accusations as “atrocious” and “preposterous”.

South Africa’s Jewish Board of Deputies has also condemned the legal ac­tion, accusing the govern­ment of anti-Semitism and of “inverting reality”.

“These charges have at their root an anti-Semitic worldview, which denies Jews their rights to defend themselves,” the body’s chair Karen Milner said on Thursday. South Africa has long been a vocal support­er of the Palestinian cause, with the ruling African Na­tional Congress (ANC) par­ty often linking it to its own struggle against apartheid.

It has cut off diplomatic ties with Israel over its re­sponse to the October 7 Hamas attacks.

The attack resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Isra­el, mostly civilians, accord­ing to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel has since bombarded Gaza by land, sea and air, killing more than 23,000 people, mostly women and chil­dren, according to the Gaza health ministry.