‘Mandela Will Be Smiling,’ South Africa Minister Says on ICJ Ruling against Israel

Minister of Justice and Correctional Services of the Republic of South Africa Ronald Lamola, (C), and member of the African National Committee react as they watch the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ruling on the emergency measures requested by South Africa against Israel over its war on the Gaza Strip, in Johannesburg, 26 January 2024. (EPA)
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services of the Republic of South Africa Ronald Lamola, (C), and member of the African National Committee react as they watch the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ruling on the emergency measures requested by South Africa against Israel over its war on the Gaza Strip, in Johannesburg, 26 January 2024. (EPA)
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‘Mandela Will Be Smiling,’ South Africa Minister Says on ICJ Ruling against Israel

Minister of Justice and Correctional Services of the Republic of South Africa Ronald Lamola, (C), and member of the African National Committee react as they watch the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ruling on the emergency measures requested by South Africa against Israel over its war on the Gaza Strip, in Johannesburg, 26 January 2024. (EPA)
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services of the Republic of South Africa Ronald Lamola, (C), and member of the African National Committee react as they watch the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ruling on the emergency measures requested by South Africa against Israel over its war on the Gaza Strip, in Johannesburg, 26 January 2024. (EPA)

South Africa's liberation hero Nelson Mandela "will be smiling in his grave" at the World Court order imposing emergency measures against Israel over its war in Gaza, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said.

In a case brought by South Africa, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians and do more to help civilians, although it stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.

It has not yet ruled on the core of South Africa's case, whether genocide has occurred in Gaza. That ruling could take years.

"We believe that former President Mandela will be smiling in his grave as one of the advocates for the Genocide Convention," Lamola told Reuters on the sidelines of a gathering of the governing African National Congress party outside Johannesburg.

The ANC has long defended the Palestinian cause, a relationship forged when its struggle against oppressive white-minority rule was supported by Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization.

It has likened Israel's actions to its struggle against apartheid, a comparison rejected by Israel, which has said South Africa's allegations of genocide are "grossly distorted" and that it makes the utmost efforts to avoid civilian casualties.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "The mere claim that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians is not only false, it's outrageous, and the willingness of the court to even discuss this is a disgrace that will not be erased for generations."

Lamola said South Africa taking the case to The Hague was an act of courage motivated by a desire to stand up for a rules-based world order.

He added: "It is a victory for the international law that there could be no exceptionalism in any part of the world and Israel cannot be exempt from complying with its international obligations."



ICC Concerned About Hungary's Decision to Withdraw from the Court

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands at the end of a press conference following bilateral talks on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP)
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands at the end of a press conference following bilateral talks on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP)
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ICC Concerned About Hungary's Decision to Withdraw from the Court

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands at the end of a press conference following bilateral talks on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP)
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands at the end of a press conference following bilateral talks on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP)

The presidency of the International Criminal Court on Thursday expressed concern about Hungary's decision to withdraw from the court.
In a letter to Hungary it urged the country to continue to be a resolute party to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the country would withdraw completely from the court on the same day Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, indicted by the ICC, visited Budapest.

Orban gave the Israeli leader a welcome with full military honors in Budapest’s Castle District. The two close allies stood side by side as a military band played and an elaborate procession of soldiers on horseback and carrying swords and bayoneted rifles marched by.

As the ceremony unfolded, Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, released a brief statement saying that “the government will initiate the withdrawal procedure” for leaving the court, which could take a year or more to complete.

Orban later said that he believes the ICC is “a political court.”
The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, said when issuing its warrant that there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had committed crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza.