Nicaragua withdraws support from South African "genocide" case against Israel in ICJ

Nicaragua officially withdrew its support for South Africa's "genocide" case against Israel in the International Court of Justice in the Hague today (Thursday), according to an official press release by the court. The press statement did not state the reason for this decision.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar welcomed this decision by Nicaragua in a post on X and expressed his hopes that others would follow suit:

"Better late than never: Nicaragua has withdrawn its morally repugnant intervention in the baseless and outrageous case that was filed by South Africa against Israel at the ICJ. Others that made the same mistake should follow suit."

South Africa filed a complaint of "genocide" against Israel in the International Court of Justice in the Hague at the end of December 2023, less than two months after October 7 and the beginning of the war in Gaza. The case alleged that Israel was engaging in deliberate starvation and killing of Gazan civilians, allegations Israel has consistently and strongly denied.

Additional countries have since joined the suit in solidarity with the Palestinians, including Ireland, Spain, Cuba, Turkey, China, and others.

The suit has thus far not resulted in more than non-binding recommendations, as requests by South Africa to the ICJ to issue an injunction to end the war have been rejected by the court thus far.