GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said that he was pleased with how his country’s legal team argued its case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for committing genocide in Gaza.
“I have never felt as proud as I felt today when our legal team was arguing our case in The Hague,” said Ramaphosa, addressing the Women’s League of his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party.
Ramaphosa said his country had put together a strong team of lawyers to represent South Africa’s case at the top UN court in The Hague, the Netherlands.
“When our lawyers were defending our case in The Hague, when I saw Ronald Lamola, a son of this land, presenting our case in court, I have never felt as proud as I do today.”
Ramaphosa said, “Some people say that the step we are taking is risky. We are a small country, and we have a small economy. They can attack us, but we will stand by our principles. As the father of our democracy taught us, we will not be truly free until the Palestinian people are free.”
South Africa filed its case at the ICJ in December, saying that Israel violated the 1948 Genocide Convention.
It filed an 84-page document with the court detailing acts amounting to genocide in Gaza.
The court heard South Africa’s arguments on Thursday and will hear Israel’s response on Friday.
Many legal experts across the world said Thursday that South Africa’s legal team presented a strong case backed by evidence.
