<\/p>\n
In an Order issued on May 21, 2026, the ICJ directed South Africa to file its Reply to Israel\u2019s written pleading by November 22, 2027. Israel will then have until May 22, 2029, to submit its Rejoinder.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The case, brought by SA under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, concerns allegations of genocide in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
SA’s Presidency on Tuesday said the ICJ\u2019s Order followed a meeting held in The Hague on April 29, 2026, between representatives of SA, Israel and the President of the Court to discuss the next procedural steps in the matter.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to the Presidency, a second round of written pleadings is common in cases before the ICJ. Previous cases brought under the Genocide Convention have all included a Reply and a Rejoinder.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Presidency noted that Israel raised objections to the Court\u2019s jurisdiction in its Counter-Memorial submitted in March 2026. SA will therefore be required to address those objections in its Reply.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Under the ICJ\u2019s rules, written pleadings remain confidential unless the Court decides otherwise.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Presidency also referred to public comments made by Israel\u2019s legal representatives following the submission of the Counter-Memorial. Israel\u2019s counsel stated that the filing demonstrated that the country\u2019s objectives in Gaza had been aimed at eliminating the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and other armed groups.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
SA has maintained that self-defence cannot serve as a legal defence to allegations of genocide under international law.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Presidency further emphasised that Israel remains bound by three provisional measures orders issued by the ICJ at SA\u2019s request.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Court previously found that Palestinians in Gaza face a \u201creal and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice\u201d and ordered measures aimed at protecting rights under the Genocide Convention.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Those measures require Israel to ensure that its military does not commit genocidal acts, facilitate the unhindered delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance and basic services in cooperation with the United Nations, and allow unimpeded access for UN commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions and other investigative bodies operating in Gaza.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":36106,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-36105","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set new deadlines for the next stage of South Africa\u2019s (SA) genocide case against Israel, with proceedings expected to continue until at least 2029.","published_date":"","news_description":"The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set new deadlines for the next stage of South Africa\u2019s (SA) genocide case against Israel, with proceedings expected to continue until at least 2029.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/36105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/36105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36107,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/36105\/revisions\/36107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=36105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}