South Africa's genocide case against Israel has 'global support,' finance minister says

South Africa's legal case accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has "global support," the country's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told CNBC Monday.

A two-day hearing last week at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands, saw South African lawyers lay out arguments alleging that Israel's bombardment of Gaza that has caused massive casualties was tantamount to genocide.

"South Africa has not done anything unusual by going to an institution which has been established by the United Nations for dispute settlement between nations, and we're following rule of law and legal principles in this regard," Godongwana told CNBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"Supporters of Israel of course, including the U.K., will say our application is nonsense but there is global support for our view that in fact, our case was substantive and we have argued our case."

Turkey, Jordan, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Pakistan and Malaysia are among the states that have publicly supported South Africa's application, along with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Saudi-based organization consists of 57 member states, 48 of which are Muslim-majority countries.

Godongwana reiterated that Pretoria agreed that Israel had to respond to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, but that the response was "disproportionate" and has caused too many civilian casualties. The Hamas-run Gazan health ministry estimates that more than 23,000 people have been killed since the war began.

Israel strongly denied the accusation, contending that it has a right to defend itself in response to the terror attack by Hamas fighters, who killed around 1,200 people and took around 250 hostage.

Mark Regev, former