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South Africa’s request for an interim measure by the international court of justice to prevent Israel from committing acts of potential genocide – primarily by calling for a halt to combat operations – has suddenly taken on an urgency and relevance that seemed implausible a fortnight ago.

Crack legal teams are being assembled, countries are issuing statements in support of South Africa, and Israel has said it will defend itself in court, reversing a decades-old policy of boycotting the UN’s top court and its 15 elected judges.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/04/stakes-high-as-south-africa-brings-claim-of-genocidal-intent-against-israel

Have any Western countries issued statements in support of South Africa for its actions against Israel? After submitting a request for an interim measure by the International Court of Justice to prevent Israel from committing acts of potential genocide, many countries came to support South Africa in its decision to do so, was there any Western country that did so (Europe and North America)?

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    The reaction statements of various Western countries are widely reported, but "supporting" is subjective.
    – Brian Z
    Commented Jan 27 at 0:40
  • 1
    @BrianZ That's the reaction to today's ruling, not to South Africa's complaint. In particular, the US favors the ruling because it doesn't call for a ceasefire. That's probably not what S. Africa was hoping for.
    – Barmar
    Commented Jan 27 at 0:54

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Slovenia.

On January 11th, the Slovenian government announced that it would be joining a separate ICJ case against Israel, brought about by the UN General Assembly in 2022. In the same statement, it ruled out joining South Africa's ICJ case, but stated its support for it:

Slovenia supports the proceedings regarding the violation of the Genocide Convention, both in the case of Ukraine and Palestine. As a defender of international law, Slovenia fully supports the work of the International Court of Justice and hopes that it will rule on this case as soon as possible.

Belgium... sort of.

On January 9th, the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Petra De Sutter, tweeted her support for South Africa's ICJ proceedings:

Belgium cannot stand by and watch the immense human suffering in Gaza. We must act against the threat of genocide.

I want Belgium to take action at the International Court of Justice, following the lead of South Africa.

I will propose this within the Belgian government.

To the best of my knowledge, the Belgian government has not agreed to do this, but it has not come out in support of Israel either, and Wikipedia lists them along with Slovenia as officially supporting South Africa.

Spain.

On June 6th, Spain announced that it had applied to join South Africa's ICJ case.

“We take the decision because of the ongoing military operation in Gaza,” Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in Madrid. “We want peace to return to Gaza and the Middle East, and for that to happen we must all support the court.”

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