NAIROBI, Kenya

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday welcomed international support for the genocide case against Israel his country filed last December at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Ramaphosa said, “We will not sit silent and watch as apartheid is perpetrated against others," evoking South Africa’s decades-long fight against apartheid, which finally ended with success in the 1990s.

"The only lasting solution is the establishment of the Palestinian state, a state that will exist side by side with Israel, with East Jerusalem as its capital," he added.

South Africa filed the case with The Hague-based tribunal late last year, accusing Israel, which began a relentless offensive against Gaza last October, of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Several countries – including Türkiye, Nicaragua, Palestine, Spain, Mexico, Libya and Colombia – have joined the case, which began public hearings in January.

In his remarks, Ramaphosa also called for sweeping reforms to the UN Security Council, criticizing its current structure as outdated and exclusive.

"It cannot remain an exclusive club of five nations," he said, urging the inclusion of Africa and other regions in the council’s decision-making process.

*Riyaz ul Khaliq contributed to this story.