By Lisandra Paraguassu
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil is finalizing its submission to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel’s actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
South Africa filed a case in 2023 asking the ICJ to declare that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention. The case argues that in its war against Hamas militants, Israel’s military actions go beyond targeting Hamas alone by attacking civilians, with strikes on schools, hospitals, camps and shelters.
Other countries – including Spain, Turkey and Colombia – have also sought to join the case against Israel.
In its statement, the Brazilian government accused Israel of violations of international law “such as the annexation of territories by force,” and it expressed “deep indignation” at violence suffered by the civilian population.
Israel denies deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians, saying its sole interest is to annihilate Hamas. Lawyers for Israel have dismissed South Africa’s case as an abuse of the genocide convention.
The Israeli embassy in Brasilia said the Brazilian statement used “harsh words that do not fully portray the reality of what is currently happening in Gaza,” while Brazil also “completely ignored” the role of Hamas within Gaza’s reality.
Brazil’s National Israeli association CONIB said in a statement in response to Wednesday’s decision: “The breaking of Brazil’s long-standing friendship and partnership with Israel is a misguided move that proves the extremism of our foreign policy.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has long been an outspoken critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, but Wednesday’s decision carries added significance amid heightened tensions between Brazil and Israel ally the United States. The Trump administration announced 50% tariffs on all Brazilian goods this month.
A diplomat familiar with the thinking of the Lula administration told Reuters that Brazil does not believe its decision to join South Africa’s case will impact its relationship with Washington.
The United States has opposed South Africa’s genocide case under both Democratic former President Joe Biden and Trump, a Republican. In February, Trump signed an executive order to cut U.S. financial assistance to South Africa, citing in part its ICJ case.
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Writing by Isabel Teles and Andre Romani; Editing by Gabriel Araujo, Rosalba O’Brien and Leslie Adler)
