Key Takeaways
- South Africa welcomes the UN Court’s ruling on Israel’s settlement activity in Palestinian territories.
- The UN Court has ruled that Israel’s settlement activity violates international law and constitutes annexation.
- South Africa calls for an end to Israel’s illegal actions in the Palestinian territories and demands reparations for the damage caused.
Cape Town: The government of South Africa welcomes the advisory opinion of the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, the South African Foreign Ministry said.
On Friday, the UN court issued an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. The ICJ ruled that Israeli settlement activity violates international law and constitutes annexation. The court called on Israel to cease its new settlement activities and its illegal presence in the Palestinian territories, and to pay reparations for the damage caused by the occupation.
“The Government of South Africa welcomes the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice issued today in The Hague in respect of the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,” the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said that the ICJ ruling reflects South Africa’s long-standing position on the illegality of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, and called on the international community to take action to end Israel’s illegal actions against the Palestinian people.
On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit with the ICJ against Israel over alleged genocide in the Gaza Strip. On January 26, the ICJ ruled provisional measures ordering Israel to take urgent steps to prevent acts of genocide and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to the enclave. At the same time, the ICJ did not order an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. In early March, the African nation went back to the ICJ to call for additional provisional measures against Israel that would address widespread starvation among Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
On May 10, South Africa addressed the ICJ with an immediate request to apply additional measures against Israel. On May 16-17, the court held hearings on the matter. On May 24, the court ordered Israel to stop the military operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah and take measures to ensure access of missions to investigate the accusations of genocide.
