JOHANNESBURG

South Africa is to submit a detailed memorandum against Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday, aiming to bolster its case that Israel is committing genocide in Palestine, diplomatic sources confirmed to Anadolu on Sunday.

A South African diplomatic source told Anadolu, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, that the memorial would be filed on Monday.

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told the Daily Maverick news website that the memorial contained more evidence, in “forensic detail”, to show that “this is not just a plausible case of genocide, but indeed it is a genocide”.

The report says that once a brief is filed, the respondent (in this case, Israel) must file a counter-memorial by July 28 of next year.

South Africa filed its genocide case against Israel at the Hague tribunal in late 2023, saying Israel, which has bombed Gaza since last October, has failed to honor its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Several countries, including Türkiye, Nicaragua, Palestine, Spain, Mexico, Libya and Colombia, have joined the case, which began public hearings in January.

In May, the supreme court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. It was the third time the 15-judge panel issued preliminary injunctions to reduce the death toll and ease humanitarian suffering in the besieged enclave, where the death toll has topped 44,000.

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