Picket held in support of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel

People gathered outside the Western Cape High Court on Monday to show support for South Africa’s legal team’s additional submission to the International Court of Justice to prove genocide in Gaza. Photo: Matthew Hirsch

About 50 people gathered outside the Western Cape High Court on Monday morning to support South Africa’s additional submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on genocide in Gaza. Protestors braved the rain to show support for South Africa’s legal team.

They chanted, “Stop the killing, stop the war, Palestine will live some more” and “Gaza don’t you cry, Palestine will never die”. The national anthems of South Africa and Palestine were sung.

In January, the South African government submitted its application to the ICJ, and is submitting further pleadings “to provide facts and evidence to prove that Israel is committing the crime of genocide in Palestine”.

“We are very proud that South Africa has taken up this stance. It has been joined by many other countries in this initiative,” said Professor Usuf Chikte, of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, standing outside court.

“There were interim measures [ordered by the ICJ] that Israel has disobeyed,” he said.

Megan Choritz, of South African Jews for a Free Palestine, said, “We have to boycott, divest and sanction. We have to make sure that this stops before every single Gazan is dead.”

Ashraf Mahomed, of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, said the association supported South Africa’s additional submissions to the ICJ.

“We reject those who engage in antisemitism or Jew-hatred as much as we reject those who engage in Islamaphobia or Arab-hatred. Standing up for truth and against war-crimes being committed by Israel is not antisemitic. Standing on the right side of history is not antisemitic,” he said.

Mogamad Ganief Ebrahim Hendricks, of Al Jama-ah and deputy minister for social development, called for an urgent debate in Parliament on Palestine.

According to Al Jazeera, about 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023. At least 2,000 people have also been killed in Lebanon. About 1,100 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.

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