Former UK opposition leader Corbyn to join South Africa's delegation accusing Israel of genocide

The South African government says former U.K. opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn will join its delegation for this week’s hearings at the United Nations’ top court as it accuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Former U.K. opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn will join a South African delegation for this week’s hearings at the International Court of Justice, where the country accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, the South African government said Tuesday.

South Africa brought the case against Israel last month, accusing it of intending “to destroy Palestinians in Gaza,” and asked the U.N.'s top court to order Israel to halt its attacks. Israel rejected South Africa's allegations of genocide “with disgust” and said it will defend itself at the court.

South Africa's Justice Ministry said Corbyn was one of a number of “senior political figures from progressive political parties and movements across the globe” who will join the South African delegation at the Hague in the Netherlands for two days of preliminary hearings which begin on Thursday.

Corbyn was the only one of those foreign political figures in its delegation named by the South African government.

Corbyn's leadership of the left-of-center Labour Party in Britain was stained by allegations of antisemitism. He is a longtime supporter of the Palestinian cause and a fierce critic of Israel. He was suspended from the Labour Party in 2020 after Britain’s equalities watchdog found party officials had committed acts of “harassment and discrimination” against Jews and said anti-Jewish prejudice had been allowed to spread within Labour under his leadership.