The United States has filed a declaration of intervention in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), explicitly rejecting the allegation that the country is committing genocide in Gaza.
The filing was made on Thursday alongside separate interventions by Namibia, Hungary and Fiji, according to a press release issued by the court on Friday.
All four states submitted declarations under Article 63 of the ICJ statute, which allows countries that are parties to a treaty under dispute to intervene in order to present their interpretation of that treaty.
Earlier on Thursday, Iceland and the Netherlands also filed declarations under Article 63.
South Africa filed the case in December 2023, accusing Israel of breaching the Genocide Convention through its military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October that year.
Pretoria argues that Israel's conduct - including mass killings, destruction of infrastructure and the imposition of conditions of life threatening the survival of Palestinians in Gaza - amounts to genocide.
Israel denies the accusation and claims its war is justified by considerations of self-defence.
The US submission on Thursday stands out among most interventions for directly defending Israel against the accusation brought by South Africa. Taking sides in a case is highly unconventional under Article 63 submissions.
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