South Africa Wants Israel to End the War in the Middle East

UN Photo

South Africa has filed charges with the United Nations’ top court, accusing Israel of pursuing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and demanding that Israel halt their attacks.

South Africa filed the complaint in The Hague, Netherlands. Israel rejected the filing.

U.S. news reports regularly show women and children begging for food. Last week, humanitarians warned that more than one in four households in Gaza were enduring “catastrophic” hunger.

The risk of famine occurring within Palestine over the next six months was confirmed by the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, which showed that the entire population of Gaza, some 2.2 million people, is living with “crisis or worse” levels of acute food insecurity. 

Since October 7, when the war began, some 21,672 men, women, and children have been killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, reports the Palestinian Health Ministry. That was two days ago.

South Africa’s submission to the International Court of Justice alleges that “acts and omissions by Israel ... are genocidal in character” as they are committed with the intent “to destroy Palestinians in Gaza” as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial, and ethnic group.

South Africa has been a fierce critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

South African President Cyril Ramaphoa has compared Israel’s policies regarding Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with South Africa’s past apartheid regime of racial segregation.