South Africa watched ‘with horror’ as Israel attacked Gaza

Closing that segment of its presentation, South Africa’s legal team makes some final remarks, by Professor John Dugard. 

“South Africa has a long history of close relations with Israel. For this reason, it did not bring the dispute immediately to the attention of the court,” he says.

“It watched with horror as Israel responded to the terrible atrocities committed against its people on October 7 with an attack on Gaza that resulted in the indiscriminate killing of innocent Palestinian civilians, most of whom were women and children," he added. 

This part of the presentation became somewhat technical, revolving around the question of jurisdiction. 

Dugard said that South Africa had reached out to Israel several times to stop its genocide in Gaza but received no response, resulting in a case being sent to the ICJ. 

The court has adjourned for a 10-minute break and should resume shortly.