South Africa has intensified its campaign against Israel and the United States (US) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), providing the court with a new dossier alleging that Israel has failed to comply with provisional measures already issued in the Gaza case.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) announced last week Friday that South Africa had submitted what it called a substantial dossier to the ICJ on 25 August, last week Monday. The material is intended to assist the committee of judges responsible for monitoring implementation of the provisional measures and considering options for the court.

DIRCO said Israel had failed to comply with the three sets of provisional measures issued by the ICJ and that Pretoria would continue using the mechanisms available to it to press for compliance.

“South Africa continues to pursue all avenues available to it to seek Israel’s full and immediate compliance with the court’s orders,” DIRCO said.

The move reinforces the direction of Pretoria’s foreign policy at a time when its relationship with Washington has deteriorated and stands in increasingly sharp contrast with the approach being taken by neighbouring African states.

Last week, for example, The Common Sense reported that the Botswana Defence Force hosted a major military exercise with the North Carolina National Guard and, for the first time, the US Space Force. The training covered military planning, intelligence, defensive cyber operations, and the integration of space capabilities, while Botswana is also receiving additional US military equipment.

South Africa has moved in the opposite direction. Its former military cooperation programme with the US has been allowed effectively to lapse, while Pretoria has instead exercised with China, Russia, and Iran, strengthening ties with US rivals and intensifying its diplomatic and legal campaign against Israel, Washington’s principal Middle Eastern ally.

DIRCO said South Africa had already sent dossiers relating to Gaza to the United Nations (UN) Security Council in May 2024, February 2025, and September 2025. Further dossiers dealing with starvation in Gaza were submitted to the UN General Assembly and Economic and Social Council in October 2025.

Pretoria describes these actions as part of its commitment to international law and multilateral institutions. It argues that Israel has failed to implement the ICJ’s provisional measures and that other states have obligations to act to protect Palestinians under the Genocide Convention.ael has failed to implement the ICJ’s provisional measures and that other states have obligations to act to protect Palestinians under the Genocide Convention.