By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Israel has filed its counter-memorial, or arguments in response to South Africa’s substantive charge of genocide against it, on Thursday, 12 March at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
This is after SA filed its memorial, containing more than 750 pages of evidence, to the ICJ in October 2024.
The court previously granted Israel several extensions for the filing of its counter-memorial, the latest deadline being Thursday, 12 March 2026.
South Africa’s case alleges that Israel has committed genocidal acts in Gaza, in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention. (Both SA and Israel are signatories to the convention, and any state that is party to it can bring a case before the ICJ, so SA was able to do this even though it is not directly involved in the conflict.)
Israel has dismissed the case, rejecting South Africa’s “fabricated and politicised blood libel.”
The submission of its counter-memorial is the next step in a lengthy court process that could take years before a final judgment is handed down.
More than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, after the Hamas-led attack on Israel. However, a recent study, published in the Lancet Global Health medical journal, has put the death toll at much higher – finding that more than 75,000 Palestinians were killed in the first 16 months of the war, between 7 October 2023 and 5 January 2025.
South Africa’s Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said it has noted the filing of Israel’s response to SA’s written pleadings in the case.
Magwenya said SA will now study Israel’s response.
“[We will] decide whether to request the court’s permission to make further written submissions in reply, or to proceed directly to the oral phase of proceedings,” he said.
The ICJ is the United Nations’ highest court. Its rulings are theoretically legally binding on parties to the ICJ – which include Israel and South Africa – but are not enforceable.
A final ruling on this could take years, although the court could rule more quickly on South Africa’s request for Israel to suspend its military campaign.