South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the main judicial body of the United Nations, goes beyond just solidarity with the Palestinian cause. It is a long-term initiative that extends even beyond Pretoria’s calculations of domestic and foreign policy interests. The leaders of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) who fought against apartheid and succeeded in establishing a Democratic Republic of South Africa, continue in efforts to transform current international institutions that favor Western powers.

The ruling ANC is the oldest liberation movement in Africa and it celebrated its 112th Birthday in Mpumalanga  on 13 January. The ANC is not only popular in the African continent, but remains a widely respected organization among leftist organizations in many parts of the world especially in the Middle East and Latin America where they share a struggle against White supremacy. South Africa stands as the natural representative of the African continent in international organizations such as G-20, and BRICS and continues raising their voice for historically disadvantaged Africans and other communities who suffered under Western colonial powers. The support and solidarity they have shown by raising their voice for Palestine is just one example among many when they have continued to speak up and fight for justice around the world. South Africa’s former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma criticized the Western world over the killing of Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein on many occasions. President Cyril Ramaphosa  made it clear to European leaders that  ‘Africans Are Not Beggars,’ and demanded equality at the New Global Financial Pact Summit in France on Friday, June 23, 2023. Ramaphosa also led a peace initiative consisting of a coalition of seven African nations and travelled to Ukraine and Russia in June 2023 in efforts to end the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Israel accuses the South African government of being the “legal arm of Hamas” but South Africa has repeatedly condemned Hamas’ 7 October attack. ANC leaders have a long and established history of ties with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). While Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first post-apartheid president, was in Prison he supported the PLO and its leader Yasser Arafat. ANC is currently engaging with Hamas as the organization ruling the Gaza Strip, apart from this, the ANC leadership has not necessarily developed any strategic relations with the Hamas leaders as has been the case with Turkiye’s Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Qatar government which harbour Hamas leaders.

Many ANC leaders including current President Cyril Ramaphosa who is known to be a close Western ally, are well aware that proving Israel is committing acts of genocide is no easy task and that even if the Hague rules in favour of South Africa, Israel is still unlikely to stop targeting civilians. However, dragging Israel into the defendant dock at the International Court of Justice at the Hauge carried great symbolic importance for the oppressed around the world.

South Africa can benefit from investments, especially from the USA and powerful European countries and Pretoria has been trying to strengthen economic relations with the West. South Africa has gone to great lengths to maintain close ties with the United States, especially after the Lady R incident wherein the USA ambassador to Pretoria accused South Africa of providing weapons and ammunition to Russia. Following the tension between Pretoria and Washington, South Africa’s Trade, industry & competition minister Ebrahim Patel led a high-level delegation to the USA to extend the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) agreement that allows 32 African nations to take advantage of the preferential trade agreement. South Africa hosted the AGOA forum in Johannesburg in November to consolidate its business ties with the USA.

Economic ties with these leaders are now at risk. Washington has condemned South Africa’s decision to formally accuse Israel of genocide. UK’s Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said it is “nonsense” for South Africa to accuse Israel of genocide and Germany has decided to intervene on Israel’s behalf at The Hague. These Western countries are South Africa’s most important trade partners. South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told CNBC on Monday at Davos that Pretoria’s genocide case against Israel has ‘global support’, including the likes of Turkiye, Jordan, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Pakistan and Malaysia who have publicly supported South Africa’s application, along with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which has 57 members. However, none of these countries are principal international trading partners of South Africa and cannot replace the Western economies anytime soon.

It is clear that ANC leaders are not prioritizing commercial or political gain for themselves from the genocide case. The ANC leadership has strongly criticized Israel’s targeting of civilians in military operations launched in response to Hamas’ attacks on 7 October. ANC Executive Members (NEC) were dressed in black, wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh on October 14 to demonstrate support for the Palestinian cause, and the ruling party organized a massive pro-Palestinian protest outside the Israeli embassy on 20 October. The following day, South African lawmakers voted in favour of a motion to close the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria.

Dozens of Arab and Muslim nations are refraining from raising their voices for the Palestinian cause out of concern for their domestic and international interests.  But the ANC leaders who understand well what it means to face decades of oppression, have been left traumatized by Israel’s genocide in which more than 23 thousand Palestinians have been mercilessly killed. South Africa’s genocide case against Israel has already made the ANC a global human rights champion. 

Turkmen Terzi is a South African-based Turkish journalist and he holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Johannesburg.