Ramaphosa likely to highlight success of SA's genocide case against Israel in SONA, say analysts

CAPE TOWN - Political analysts say South Africa's dispute with Israel over war crimes in the occupied territory of Gaza is likely to be a highlight for President Cyril Ramaphosa when he delivers the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday.

They say the move will resonate with South Africans and detract from some of the negatives of the past year. 

Last month, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found it plausible that Israel may be committing genocide and ordered provisional measures against it in attempts to stem the killings of Palestinians. 

In reflecting on 30 years of freedom and democracy, political analysts say South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice could not have been launched at a better time. 

Senior political lecturer at the University of Pretoria, Heather Thuynsma, said it would be a noteworthy achievement that the president could be expected to highlight. 

"This is a significant success for the administration and I expect the president will explain the complexity of the case and the international impact of the court’s decision." 

Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy, Professor Bheki Mngomezulu said the case also boded particularly well for the African National Congress (ANC) in an election year. 

"We are celebrating that as a country, as a collective. We’ve been able to do what most countries, even developed countries have failed to do, which is to take Israel head-on and arguably having achieved at least some of the things we wanted to achieve." 

Mngomezulu said the move would count in Ramaphosa’s favour for having achieved what other countries had failed to do.