South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Chatsworth, South Africa, May 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rogan Ward

South Africa has vowed to continue its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) despite the ceasefire in Gaza, the most significant effort yet to halt the nearly two-year Middle Eastern conflict, taking effect.

Speaking before parliament in Cape Town on Tuesday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa affirmed that the US-backed peace deal “will have no bearing” on the ongoing legal proceedings against the Jewish state.

Ramaphosa promised to continue seeking “justice for the people of Gaza,” while reiterating false accusations that Israel committed genocide under international law during its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

“The peace deal that has been struck, which we welcome, will have no bearing on the case that is before the International Court of Justice,” the South African leader said.

“The case is proceeding, and it now has to go to the stage where Israel has to respond to our pleadings that have been filed in the court, and they have to do so by January of next year,” he continued.

Israel has strongly rejected all allegations of genocide, calling South Africa’s case “baseless” and “politically motivated.”

However, Ramaphosa has once again defended South Africa’s efforts against Jerusalem, insisting that the case is driven not by politics but by moral and legal principles of accountability and human rights.

“We cannot go forward without the healing that needs to take place, which will also result from the case being properly heard,” the South African leader said. “True peace requires justice, recognition, and reparations.”

“Peace cannot come at the expense of justice,” he continued. “For the victims, for the families, and for humanity itself, the truth must be heard.”

Ramaphosa’s continuing push comes amid mounting international pressure, with the US, South African political leaders, and the local Jewish community all expressing opposition to his government’s actions, accusing it of pursuing an anti-Israel campaign instead of addressing the country’s own pressing issues.

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) strongly condemned Ramaphosa’s latest remarks, denouncing him and the country’s leadership as showing no real concern for achieving peace in the Middle East.

“It is fascinating that [Ramaphosa] chose not to comment on the return of the hostages or the ceasefire. Seems peace is not their real goal. Maybe that’s why they aren’t sitting around the peace table in Sharm El-Sheik?” SAJBD wrote in a post on X, referring to the Gaza peace summit in Egypt, where leaders signed a US-brokered agreement aimed at ending the war.

It is fascinating that @cyrilRamaphosa or @DIRCO_ZA chose not to comment on the return of the hostages or the ceasefire. Seems peace is not their real goal. Maybe that’s why they aren’t sitting around the peace table in Sharm El-Sheik? @Zwandid @ClaysonMonyela

— SA Jewish Board (@SAJBD) October 13, 2025

“It is a profound disappointment that the South African government, despite its ties to Hamas, adopted a one-sided and performative stance from the conflict’s outset, choosing meaningless virtue signaling exercises, failing to leverage its position to contribute meaningfully to hostage negotiations, de-escalation, or the pursuit of a peace that could have saved countless lives,” the statement read.

Several countries, including Spain, Ireland, Turkey, and Colombia, have expressed their support for Pretoria’s efforts.

On Tuesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israel since the start of war in Gaza, expressed his support for Ramaphosa’s decision to continue pursuing the ICJ case despite the newly brokered ceasefire.

“There cannot be impunity,” Sánchez told local media. “The main actors of the genocide will have to answer to justice.”

South Africa first filed its case in December 2023, accusing Israel of committing “state-led genocide” in its defensive war against Hamas in Gaza.

Israeli leaders have condemned the case as an “obscene exploitation” of the Genocide Convention, noting that the Jewish state is targeting terrorists who use civilians as human shields in its military campaign.

Last year, the ICJ ruled there was “plausibility” to South Africa’s claims that Palestinians had a right to be protected from genocide.

However, the top UN court did not make a determination on the merits of South Africa’s allegations, which may take years to go through the judicial process, nor did it call for Israel to halt its military campaign.

Instead, the ICJ issued a more general directive that Israel must make sure it prevents acts of genocide. The ruling also called for the release of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the terrorist group’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Under ICJ timelines, Israel must respond to South Africa’s allegations by January next year, with oral hearings scheduled for 2027 and a final judgment potentially arriving as late as 2028.