Israel is facing charges of genocide at the ICJ, in a controversial case brought by South Africa. South Africa’s false and offensive application is political in nature and is harmful to the cause of peace.
 
The UK Government has rejected South Africa’s charge that Israel is committing genocide and the Prime Minister was right when he said that South Africa’s case is “completely unjustified and wrong”, “does not serve the court of peace”, and that “the UK Government stands by Israel’s clear right to defend itself within the framework of international law”.
 
South Africa’s case has been widely criticised for its failure to address Hamas’s massacre on 7th October and its use of human shields in Gaza.
 
Furthermore, I do not think it is wise to be taking advice from South Africa on this matter. In 2017, Pretoria ignored an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), of Sudan’s former President on charges of genocide, and initially resisted an ICC arrest warrant to arrest Vladimir Putin in July 2023 for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
 
South Africa’s allegations against Israel does a moral disservice to what should be the basic tenants of our shared international norms and values. In attacking the Jewish State with laws established in the wake of the Holocaust, South Africa has yet again reminded us that the ancient evil of antisemitism – which seeks to isolate and discriminate against the Jewish People both as individuals and now in their national incarnation – requires proactive defence from those states which value liberty and freedom.