Hamas praises Egypt’s support for South Africa's ICJ genocide case against Israel

CAIRO – 12 May 2024: The Hamas Movement praised Egypt’s announcement of its intention to join South Africa’s lawsuit before the International Justice Department against the Israeli genocidal acts in the Gaza Strip.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) appreciated the announcement by […] Arab Republic of Egypt of its intention to join the lawsuit filed by the Republic of South Africa before the International Court of Justice in the case of genocide committed by the Zionist entity against our Palestinian people,” the movement announced in a statement on Sunday.

Egypt announced on Sunday its intervention to support South Africa's case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which accuses Israel of committing acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Last week, South Africa requested the ICJ to order the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Rafah, a city that currently shelters over half of the Palestinian population, with about 1.4 million residents.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement confirming Egypt's official intervention to support South Africa's genocide case against Israel before the ICJ.

The statement emphasizes that Egypt's intervention comes in response to the escalating severity and scale of Israeli assaults on Palestinians in Gaza.

The ministry's statement highlights Israel's systematic practices against Palestinians in Gaza, including deliberate targeting of civilians, destruction of infrastructure, and forcing Palestinians to leave their land.

These actions by Israel “have led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, creating unlivable conditions in the Gaza Strip, blatantly violating international law, international humanitarian law, and the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,” according to the ministry.

Egypt calls on Israel, as the occupying force, to comply with the provisional measures issued by the ICJ. These measures call for ensuring adequate aid delivery and refraining from any violations against Palestinians by Israeli forces.

Additionally, Egypt urges the UN Security Council and influential international actors to take immediate action to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, halt military operations in Rafah city, and provide necessary protection to Palestinian civilians.