Israel: South Africa’s genocide case against Jewish state ‘collapsing’

South Africa’s request for an 18-month extension to submit arguments to the International Court of Justice supporting allegations of genocide committed in Gaza demonstrates that the legal case against the Jewish state is “collapsing,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

“The written submissions will not end before 2029. All the claims of ‘urgency’ have now turned into South Africa’s quiet requests to buy more time,” the ministry tweeted.

“This case was never about the facts. It has always been a propaganda campaign by South Africa in the service of Hamas, masquerading as a legal process,” the ministry said, calling the 18-month extension period “extraordinary.”

South Africa, which has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, has agreed to an effective 36-month extension in proceedings before the ICJ after requesting additional time to respond to Israel’s initial defense response.

The court, which is based in The Hague, is the principal judicial arm of the United Nations.

In an order dated May 21 and published on Friday, the ICJ gave South Africa until Nov. 22, 2027, to file its reply. Israel will then have until May 22, 2029, to submit a rejoinder.

According to the court, South Africa told judges last month that a second round of written pleadings was necessary because of “the complexity of the case,” the volume of Israel’s counter-memorial and Israel’s objections to the court’s jurisdiction and the admissibility of South Africa’s application.

Israel argued that another round of pleadings was unnecessary, the court said, but maintained that if South Africa were granted 18 months to respond, Israel should receive the same amount of time for its rejoinder.