Israel weakly counters South Africa’s strong stance in genocide case: What’s next?

On January 11-12, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) heard the genocide case filed against Israel by South Africa.

On Day 1, South Africa’s legal team put forward its case, pointing at the atrocities being committed against Palestinians in Gaza by Israel.

Israel is accused of committing genocidal acts during their military operations which included mass killings of Palestinians, bodily and mental harm, forced displacement and food blockade, destruction of the healthcare system, and preventing Palestinian births.

On Day 2, Israel defended itself against the charges, arguing that South Africa “ignored” the incident of October 7 and that Israel had the right to defend itself, adding that the court should put provisional measures against South Africa, accusing it of having ties with Hamas. Israel did not submit any evidence to support its claims that Hamas was the cause of the attacks in Gaza whereas South Africa submitted video evidence of Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

They also blamed Hamas for the high civilian death toll in Gaza, claiming that Israel did not bomb hospitals and that they enabled humanitarian aid.

What’s next?

Al Jazeera explains that even though South Africa’s case against Israel can take years, an “interim measure” intended to halt Israel’s attack in Gaza can be taken “within weeks”.

If the interim measure is implemented, Israel will be legally obligated to put an end to its offences. And while the “court’s rulings are final”, it has no authority to impose them, nonetheless.

On the other hand, if the court does not implement an interim measure, “it could still decide it has jurisdiction and proceed with the case”, adds Al Jazeera’s explainer.