Has Somalia Joined South Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel at the International Court of Justice?

By Elijah Koome

In a post shared on June 18, 2026, Ali Barre, an X user known for posting pro-Somali and anti-Israel content, claimed that Somalia has joined South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Based on an analysis of the account, the user is strongly opposed to the Somaliland-Israel diplomatic relationship, framing it as betrayal and referring to Israel using terms like “genocidal entity.” 

Background

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the main judicial entity of the United Nations (UN). It was established in 1945 with the main goal of settling disputes between states and giving advisory legal opinions on matters brought to it by member states. The court is made up of 15 judges elected by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council, and it is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICJ is a different organ from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was established in 2001 through the Rome Statute with the main aim of prosecuting individuals accused of human rights abuses. Some examples of cases the ICJ has handled include a dispute between Croatia and Serbia over whether genocide was committed during the 1990s Balkans conflict, decided in 2015, and a disagreement between Somalia and Kenya over where the ocean boundary between their two countries should be drawn, decided in 2021.

On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the ICJ, focusing on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, in which over 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 240 taken hostage, Israel has intensified its military operations in Gaza,  leading to thousands of civilian casualties and immense destruction of infrastructure. The legal foundation of South Africa’s case is the Genocide Convention, ratified by 153 countries, which defines genocide as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. In its filing, South Africa argued that Israel’s mass killings, destruction of infrastructure, blocking of humanitarian aid, and dehumanising statements by senior officials amounted to genocide against Palestinians. Israel strongly rejected these allegations.

In January 2024, the ICJ issued provisional measures ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts, stop incitement, allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, and preserve evidence. These orders were, however, not a finding that genocide had occurred. That determination is expected to take several more years.

Verification

As the case has progressed, 22 countries have formally joined the proceedings as interveners. This means they are not parties to the dispute itself but have been permitted by the Court to submit their views on how the Genocide Convention should be interpreted since the outcome could affect all countries that have signed the treaty. According to the official ICJ website for this case, these countries include: Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, Turkey, Chile, the Maldives, Bolivia, Ireland, Cuba, Belize, Brazil, the Comoros, Belgium, Paraguay, Iceland, the Netherlands, Namibia, the United States, Hungary and Fiji. Somalia has neither joined nor applied to join the case in any capacity. Further, there are no credible statements from Somali government officials stating that the country intends to intervene in the case. 

Verdict

The claim that Somalia has joined South Africa in the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice is FALSE.