South African President Ramaphosa said on the 14th that South Africa welcomes the recently reached ceasefire agreement in Gaza, but this agreement will not affect South Africa's genocide lawsuit against Israel in the United Nations International Court of Justice.
Ramaphosa made the statement in response to a parliamentary question in the National Committee on Provincial Affairs (the House of Representatives) in South Africa that afternoon, saying that the case against Israel is still underway and that Israel must respond to the case by January next year.
Ramaphosa said that as a party to the litigation, South Africa could not force the International Court of Justice to speed up the ruling process, while Israel was still violating a number of "interim measures" issued by the International Court of Justice. At the same time, he pointed out that the international community is making various efforts to end Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip and ensure that atrocities committed against the Palestinian people will not go unpunished.
In December 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit before the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip. After that, Chile, Spain, Colombia, Cuba and other countries decided to join the ranks of prosecution against Israel. In 2024, the International Court of Justice held several hearings on the case and issued "temporary measures", demanding that Israel take immediate action to prevent any acts that could lead to the genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip; take all necessary measures to ensure that humanitarian aid enters the Gaza Strip without obstacles; and immediately stop military operations at the southern port of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
At present, the International Court of Justice has not yet made a ruling on the lawsuits of relevant countries, and the final judgment often takes several years. Israel denies accusations of "genocide" and does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice on this issue, arguing that its military operations in the Gaza Strip were "self-defense" moves.