‘We’ll see what happens’: Trump responds to SA’s ICJ case

US President Donald Trump acknowledged that he does not expect South Africa to drop its International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Israel. Trump was speaking during a press briefing with President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday, 21 May, at the White House. 

Also, Ramaphosa says the case did not feature in private talks with Trump. South Africa took Israel to the international court in 2023, claiming it has committed genocide against Gazan civilians during its war against Hamas.

Trump previously denounced the court case and referred to it when he signed an executive order against South Africa in February. That order cut US aid to South Africa and began the process of resettling so-called Afrikaner ‘refugees’.

Trump holds back from criticising ICJ case against Israel

However, when asked if he expected South Africa to drop the ICJ case yesterday, Trump seemed disinterested. He said:

 “I don’t expect anything, to be honest. I really don’t. I don’t know.” 

He added:

“We’ll see what happens. We’ll have a ruling. Who knows what the ruling is going to mean?”

Ramaphosa’s office emphasised ahead of the trip that the South African delegation aimed to improve trade relations. Included in Ramaphosa’s delegation were four ministers, local golf stars and the president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).

Ramaphosa and billionaire Johann Rupert, who was also in the meeting, repeatedly tried to focus the conversation on trade. However, the meeting got tense when Trump again tried to promote a false narrative of persecution against Afrikaner farmers, which Ramaphosa denied.

Ramaphosa confirms ICJ case not discussed with Trump

Speaking after his meeting with Trump, Ramaphosa said the ICJ case had not featured in their private discussions. He said:

“We got an impression that President Trump’s approach to the ICJ is that, you know, let the process unfold, but at the same time to focus on peace building in the Middle East, precisely what we complimented him on.”

Ramaphosa added:

“We want to be part of that process, even between Israel and Palestine, to be able to participate in a peace-building process, so that in the end, there should be peace between Israel and its neighbouring countries, particularly Palestine.”

Gaza humanitarian crisis continues

South Africa launched the ICJ case in December 2023 and followed with four pleas for the court to, amongst other things, order Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza and scale up aid.

Despite the ICJ ruling advising Israel to ramp up aid, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues. On 22 May, UN News said 198 aid trucks had entered Gaza, but that the United Nations (UN) needed 500 per day to meet the population’s basic necessities. Prior to that, aid had not entered Gaza since 2 March.

As per AP News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was developing a new aid plan for Gaza, despite intense international criticism of the plan. According to the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification platform, one-fifth of Gaza faces starvation. 

Were you surprised that the ICJ case did not come up in Ramaphosa’s meeting with Trump?

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