The case brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has drawn further international involvement after the Netherlands and Iceland filed declarations to intervene in the proceedings.
In a statement released on Thursday, the ICJ confirmed that both countries submitted declarations of intervention on March 11, 2026 under Article 63 of the court’s statute in the case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Article 63 allows states that are parties to a convention being interpreted in a case to intervene in proceedings before the court.
“Whenever the construction of a convention to which States other than those concerned in the case are parties is in question, each of these States has the right to intervene in the proceedings,” the court said.
It added that if a state exercises this right, “the construction given by the judgment of the Court will be equally binding upon it.”
Both countries relied on their status as parties to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted in 1948.
According to the court, South Africa and Israel have been invited to submit written observations on the declarations of intervention in accordance with the ICJ’s rules.
The proceedings began on December 29, 2023 when South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel has rejected the allegations.
Since the case was filed, the court has issued several orders on provisional measures. In January 2024, the ICJ ordered Israel to take steps to prevent acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure humanitarian assistance reaches civilians in Gaza. Additional provisional measures were indicated in March and May 2024 following further requests from South Africa.
The Netherlands and Iceland join a growing list of countries seeking to intervene in the case’s interpretation of the Genocide Convention.
Under Article 63, states that intervene do not become parties to the dispute but may present their interpretation of the convention at the centre of the case. The court’s eventual interpretation will also be binding on those states.
Meanwhile, the United States has also moved to intervene in the case, signalling it will defend its ally Israel at the court in The Hague.
“The United States affirms, in the strongest terms possible, that the allegations of ‘genocide’ against Israel are false,” Washington said in its filing.
The US added that South Africa’s case was part of a long-running effort “to level false charges of ‘genocide’ against Israel”, saying such accusations serve to “delegitimise the State of Israel and the Jewish people and to justify or encourage terrorism against them”.
More than a dozen countries have applied to join the case, with many expected to present arguments supporting South Africa when the matter is eventually heard, a process that could take years.
Judges at the ICJ, based at the Peace Palace in The Hague, have already issued emergency rulings in the case, ordering Israel to do everything possible to prevent genocide in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid. In a separate ruling, the court also said Israel was obliged to provide Palestinians with the “basic needs” for survival.
While ICJ rulings are legally binding, the court has no direct power to enforce them.