ICJ case against Israel delayed until 2026 over South African violations

South Africa hid evidence from Israel in Gaza genocide case, International Court of Justice finds, leading the court to push off the trial by an additional six months.

By World Israel News Staff

South Africa knowingly concealed evidence from Israel regarding the complaint filed to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, the ICJ has determined, leading the United Nations’ court to push off the trial until 2026.

According to a report Wednesday afternoon by i24NEWS, the ICJ recently accepted Israel’s request to delay proceedings by an additional six months, after the court found that South Africa had violated ICJ rules by withholding details of evidence it had presented against Israel in its genocide complaint.

South Africa filed the complaint in December 2023, accusing Israel’s military of committing acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip during the war against Hamas, and cited comments by Israeli leaders in the aftermath of the October 7^th, 2023 invasion to suggest there was intent to commit genocide.

However, according to the report, the court has since determined that South Africa concealed the identities of witnesses cited in the complaint, and refused to share details of some of the items used as evidence.

According to two Western diplomats cited in Wednesday’s report, South Africa attempted to submit evidence to the ICJ against Israel, while denying Israel access to the materials in question.

Israel objected, noting that such behavior violates the ICJ’s own procedures, prompting the court to give South Africa until October 2024 to reveal all evidence and witnesses to Israel so that the Jewish state can have time to provide a response to the accusations.

That deadline has now been pushed back to this April, the report said.

In addition, the ICJ has delayed the deadline for Israel to respond to South Africa’s updated complaint from July of this year to January 12^th, 2026.

ICJInternational Court of JusticeSouth Africa