The World Reacts to South Africa’s ICJ Case

In bringing a genocide case against Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), South Africa has dared, as FP’s Sasha Polakow-Suransky writes, “to take on a radioactive global issue, discussion of which is virtually verboten in Washington.”

Although the court’s ruling on genocide could take years, it has already ordered Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip. But in some ways, Polakow-Suransky argues, the outcome is less important than Pretoria’s decision to launch the case, which has “made it acceptable to accuse Israel of grave crimes in a major formal international setting.”

This edition of Flash Points examines the case and its global implications, from its potential impact on the war in Gaza to what it might mean for Washington’s global leadership.

People raise flags as they gather around a statue of late South African President Nelson Mandela to celebrate a landmark case filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide, in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Jan. 10. Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images

What South Africa Really Won at the ICJ

For much of the world, Pretoria has restored its reputation as a moral beacon—at America’s expense, FP’s Sasha Polakow-Suransky writes.

A man holds the Palestinian and South African flags as he takes part in a demonstration in support for Palestinians in Bucharest, Romania, on Jan. 27.Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images

South Africa’s ICJ Case Was Too Narrow

By omitting Hamas and limiting its case to the crime of genocide, Pretoria lost an opportunity to halt the fighting, Chile Eboe-Osuji writes.

A journalist with China’s national broadcaster, CCTV, reports from southern Israel, near the border with the Gaza Strip, amid continuing battles between Israel and Hamas on Dec. 15, 2023.Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

China’s Problem With the Genocide Case Against Israel

Beijing backs the Palestinians in Gaza but faces its own genocide accusations at home, Aaron Glasserman writes.

Demonstrators wave Palestinian and Algerian flags as they march in a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Algiers on Oct. 19, 2023. AFP via Getty Images

Algeria Seeks U.N. Action Following ICJ Decision on Gaza

After the court ordered Israel to take provisional measures to prevent genocide, some countries are seeking to enforce the ruling, FP’s Nosmot Gbadamosi writes.

Members of the Palestinian community in Chile participate in a car caravan on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in Santiago on Nov. 29, 2023. Javier TORRES/AFP via Getty Images

What Does Latin America Think About the Israel-Hamas War?

Many countries are spurning Israel. But the region’s Middle East stance has always been nuanced, Patricia Garip writes.