This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
JERUSALEM – In a stunning decision, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, which is to hear a case South Africa brought against Israel on the "crime of committing genocide in Palestine," has told Pretoria it will not be granted an extension to submit evidence.
The deadline is Oct. 28, with the country announcing on its Department of International Relations and Cooperation website it will be filing its memorial next month.
According to Israeli outlet Kan News, South Africa sought a lengthy several month extension to the process in the hope information would be forthcoming from another source, and would spare Pretoria its blushes, amid such rank humiliation.
It was a charge Israel and its political and military leaders vociferously denied, pointing out the exterminatory nature of the initial attack on Oct. 7 – now known to have been carried out by some 6,000 people – both Hamas and other Islamist terrorists, along with regular Gazans – which sought to kill as many Jews as they could get their hands on.
Kan's reporting noted the somewhat unusual nature of South Africa's request, namely it is usually the defense which more frequently seeks to stall for time to allow as much corroboratory evidence to appear as possible. It might reasonably be assumed if such serious charges were to be brought, the complainant would have more than enough evidence to back up their prosecution.
Ugandan justice Judge Julia Sebutinde was the one voice of dissent (excluding Israel's Aharon Barak) during South Africa's original filing – a position that caused her country of origin to quickly distance itself from her position. In a lengthy and incisive dissent, Judge Sebutinde raised "serious concerns" about procedural issues, including Israel not having sufficient time to file written observations.
Did Israel pressure members of Congress?
According to Axios, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a classified cable to the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C., and to all the other consulates in the U.S. about South Africa's ICJ case, and the diplomatic campaign surrounding it.
"We are asking you to immediately work with lawmakers on the federal and state level, with governors and Jewish organizations to put pressure on South Africa to change its policy toward Israel and to make clear that continuing their current actions like supporting Hamas and pushing anti-Israeli moves in international courts will come with a heavy price," the cable read.
Since South Africa brought the case against Israel to the ICJ, the ruling ANC has been forced into a new and unprecedented multiparty coalition, after it lost outright control following decades of mismanagement and corruption.
Polio vaccinations
One of the many potential sticking points for South Africa's claim of "genocide" is the fact the IDF has helped facilitate a successful polio vaccination drive – under the auspices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, or UNRWA – in which more than half a million Gazan children have received at the least the first dose of preventative treatment for the disease.
