South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that the recent US-brokered Gaza ceasefire will not affect his country’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Speaking in parliament on Tuesday in Cape Town, Ramaphosa said South Africa remains committed to its 2023 legal action. “The peace deal… will have no bearing on the case that is before the International Court of Justice,” he said, adding that Israel must respond to South Africa’s pleadings by January 2026.
South Africa filed the case in December 2023, accusing Israel of committing genocidal acts in Gaza. The submission, filed in October 2024, runs over 500 pages. Oral hearings are expected in 2027, with a final judgment anticipated by late 2027 or early 2028.
The ICJ has issued provisional measures ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, though compliance has been limited. According to Palestinian health authorities, over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
Ramaphosa stressed the importance of justice for true reconciliation. “We cannot go forward without the healing that needs to take place, which will also result from the case… being properly heard,” he said.
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez echoed the view that the ceasefire should not grant Israel impunity. “Peace without justice… is not sustainable,” Albanese wrote on X. “The main actors of the genocide will have to answer to justice,” Sanchez said.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and a UN commission of inquiry have accused Israel of genocide, allegations Israel denies. Countries supporting South Africa’s case at the ICJ include Spain, Ireland, Turkiye, and Colombia, whose president, Gustavo Petro, warned of complicity for governments failing to act.
South Africa also co-chairs The Hague Group, a coalition formed in January 2025 to hold Israel accountable through legal, diplomatic, and economic measures beyond the ICJ proceedings.
