Fact-Checking Claims About South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel
On October 25, 2025, an X user @rkmtimes claimed that South Africa had rejected Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to withdraw its genocide case against Israeli officials and that the International Court of Justice, ICJ, has declared Netanyahu as the world’s most wanted criminal who killed 68,000 Palestinian. The post had an image of President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, ICC, Karim A. A. Khan, with the caption, “JUST IN🇿🇦🇮🇱🔥 South Africa rejects #Netanyahu's request to withdraw it's G€nocide Case against Israeli officials. 🚨 #ICJ declare the Netanyahu is world's most wanted cr!minal who k!lled 68K+ PALESTINIAN.”
When this report was published, this claim had about 11,000 views and over 2,160 replies, reposts, quotes, likes and bookmarks.
VERIFICATION
The International Criminal Court, ICC, and the International Court of Justice, ICJ, are two distinct judicial bodies based in The Hague, Netherlands, and they perform very different functions under international law. The ICC, established in 2002 under the Rome Statute, is responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of committing the world’s most serious crimes, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. It focuses on personal criminal responsibility and has the authority to issue arrest warrants and conduct trials against political leaders, military commanders, and other individuals involved in such offences.
In contrast, the ICJ, founded in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, adjudicates disputes between states and offers advisory opinions on legal matters referred to it by the UN. The ICJ does not prosecute individuals; instead, it determines state responsibility in cases such as boundary disputes, treaty violations, and accusations of genocide between nations. While the ICC holds individuals criminally accountable, the ICJ determines whether states have breached international law.
In May 2024, the ICC formally issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and senior Hamas leaders. The request was based on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the ongoing Gaza conflict.
CLAIM 1: South Africa Rejects Netanyahu’s Request To Withdraw Its Genocide Case Against Israeli Officials
On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a case at the ICJ accusing Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention in the Gaza Strip.
In 2025, Anadolu Agency reported that South Africa had firmly rejected suggestions or pressure especially from the US government to withdraw the case, stating there is “no chance” of withdrawal, despite various forms of external pressure.
Further search did not reveal any formal request or press release from the Israeli government or Netanyahu to the South African government to withdraw the case.
VERDICT
The Claim that South Africa has rejected Netanyahu’s request to withdraw the ICJ case against Israeli officials is MISLEADING. While there has been international pressure from the U.S.,there is no evidence of a request from from Israel or Netanyahu asking South Africa to withdraw the ICJ genocide case.
CLAIM 2: ICJ Declares Netanyahu As The World’s Most Wanted Criminal Who Killed 68,000 Palestinian
VERIFICATION
In January 2024, the ICJ ruled that at least some of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing war against Hamas could fall within the terms of the Genocide Convention and said it must therefore take a series of preventative measures. The ICJ stated that there is “plausibility” to South Africa’s claims that Palestinians require protection from genocide.
However, there is no report or evidence that ICJ declared Netanyahu as the world’s most wanted criminal, nor has it found a specific figure of “68 000+ Palestinians killed,” and tied it categorically to him by name in a binding decision.
VERDICT
The claim that ICJ has declared Netanyahu the world's most wanted criminal is FALSE and there is no evidence of a specific figure of “68 000+ Palestinians killed” and tied it to Netanyahu by name.
CONCLUSION
The claims that South Africa rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to withdraw its genocide case against Israel and that the ICJ declared Netanyahu “the world’s most wanted criminal” responsible for over 68,000 Palestinian deaths are MOSTLY FALSE. While it is true that South Africa has not withdrawn its genocide case against Israel at the ICJ, there is no evidence of any formal request from Netanyahu to that effect and it is FALSE that ICJ has declared Netanyahu the world’s most wanted criminal.
