UN Photo/ICJ-CIJ/Frank van Beek
South Africa's bid at The Hague to compel Israel to stop its Gaza campaign in a landmark genocide case has found support across the developing world from Latin America to Southeast Asia.
Israel has reacted angrily to the case, calling it "absurd", but the South African lawyers sent to argue it has been celebrated at home and online by supporters of the Palestinian cause.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to hand down a ruling Friday on whether to impose emergency orders on Israel. However, a decision on the genocide claims at the heart of the case will likely take years.
"The ICJ must see the frustration of the international community," said Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law professor at the University of Indonesia.
"There should be a response."
Experts say South Africa's emergency case alleging a breach of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention in Gaza has laid bare a growing rift between Israel and its Western allies, and nations in the Global South.
International justice "has long been perceived by the Global South as selective justice", said Johann Soufi, an international lawyer and former legal office chief at the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza.
"The countries of the 'South' increasingly reject this view, which they consider neocolonial."
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attacks on October 7, which left about 1,140 people dead in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally.
The court ruling will be broadcast live at 1 pm.
