Cape Town, South Africa - 26 January 2024: People in Cape Town gathered as at various pubs , coffee shops and venues across the city to watch public screenings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgement for the charges brought against Israel by South Africa. Activists, journalists and others gathered at the Bertha House venue in Mowbray to view the screening.

The ICJ has ruled that Israel’s actions in Gaza are plausibly genocidal in nature and has declared provisional measures on that basis. The UN Security Council will now formally be informed of the court’s decision.

Taahirah Abrahams, a Pro-Palestinan activist who watched the screening at Bertha’s House said: “I think more than the outcome what was amazing for me was to sit for an hour and listen to someone speak about the Palestinian issue at The Hague, at the biggest court in the world and describe the violence that is ongoing in Gaza and for once for the Palestinian voice to be heard on such a global scale and for South Africa to have brought the case it’s, it was symbolic for me in a lot of way”.

South Africa brought the case against Israel on 5 January. Since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, resulting in retaliatory attacks by Israel, there have been large and ongoing protests in support off the Palestinians and calls by South Africans for the government to suspend all relations with Israel.