How South Africa uses anti-Israel rhetoric in the ICJ – report

South Africa's case at the ICJ reportedly was backed by funding from Iran, a study by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) reported. 

The report, titled South Africa, Hamas, Iran, and Qatar: The Hijacking of the ANC and the International Court of Justice was published Friday. In it, ISGAP alleges that South Africa had developed strategic relationships with terrorist groups and allied nations, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and Qatar, which the report links with the ICJ case that accuses Israel of genocide.

It further alleges that the African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party of South Africa, brought forward the case to distract from domestic issues, which in turn allowed Iran and Qatar to push an anti-Israel agenda under the guise of South Africa's social justice reputation. Hamas and the ANC have had longstanding relations, the report alleges, saying that Hamas has presented its plight against Israel as a struggle against apartheid. 

According to the ISGAP report, the ANC was on the verge of bankruptcy shortly after South Africa announced its case against Israel. South Africa's ICJ case required a significant amount of capital to proceed; the initial submission alone is expected to have cost $10.5 million, and the final legal fees are estimated to be approximately $79 million. 

The party coincidentally received a sudden influx of unidentified cash after a series of meetings between Hamas, Iranian, and Qatari leaders, and ANC ministers, which caused concerns about foreign financial influence. ANC leaders refused to disclose the source of the funds, which covered all of the party's nearly $30 million in debts. 

South Africa is a terror financing hub under the ANC

South Africa has become a hub for terror financing, according to the ISGAP report. Hamas and Hezbollah receive funneled money from South Africa, often with the approval of local officials. This is in addition to a growing presence of Islamic Militant groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, in South Africa, the ISGAP report asserts, citing a 1998 South African intelligence document. The report claims that terrorist organizations use South Africa as a hub for military training, fundraising, and other media operations. 

The ISGAP report highlights that South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola attended Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian's inauguration this summer in Tehran. Lamola met with Iranian officials during his July visit, such as acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri, who “highlighted the high capacities for cooperation between the two countries in international political and judicial fields by adopting multilateral mechanisms to counter unilateral approaches and the illegitimate restrictions imposed by some Western countries," according to the report. 

Bagheri also "hailed Lamola for his outstanding role as an undaunted and innovative diplomat in pursuing the case of the Zionist regime’s crimes at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the special efforts by the South African government to denounce the regime’s crimes in international legal and judicial circles."

Additionally, the report goes over the strategic relationships between Iran, Qatar, and South Africa. South Africa has been instrumental in helping Iran gain political legitimacy and influential economic access by facilitating its involvement in the BRICS nations group. Qatar has invested heavily in South African energy projects, and the two nations have worked together on several international political issues, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A Hamas official further claims that the terrorist organization's mediation caused Qatar and South Africa to strengthen ties.

ISGAP's report further details the several flaws present in South Africa's case, namely the fact that the plaintiffs did not mention Hamas's war crimes. It also mentions how the case left out parts of the Hamas charter that call for the total annihilation of Israel and of Jews around the world; doubly interesting when some of the legal team had links to anti-Israel organizations or participated in organizations with ties to organizations like the Popular Conference for Palestinians abroad. 

The report also asserted that 45 of the 574 references in South Africa's ICJ submission were sourced from harshly anti-Israel organizations, raising questions about the credibility of the claims. Al-Haq, an Israeli-classified terrorist organization, is cited, though it is not recognized by the US. 

All in all, ISGAP's report further puts into question South Africa's motivations for submitting the ICJ case against Israel as well as the overall integrity of the legal proceedings.