Nearly 50 lawyers will gather to file the case that will also strengthen a suit against the Joe Biden administration. 

South African lawyers are preparing a lawsuit against the United States and the United Kingdom, accusing them of complicity in Israel’s war crimes in Gaza.

Prompted by South African lawyer Wikus Van Rensburg, the lawsuit aims to prosecute those complicit in Israeli crimes in civilian courts in cooperation with lawyers from the U.S. and UK.

Speaking to the Turkish news agency Anadolu, Rensburg voiced that the United States needs to be held responsible for endorsing the genocidal war that has lasted more than 100 days and killed more than 24,000 civilians.

“The United States must now be held accountable for the crimes it committed,” Rensburg said. 

“Many lawyers decided to join us in the lawsuit. Many of those who have joined are Muslims, but I am not. They feel obligated to assist this cause, but I believe that what is happening is incorrect,” Rensburg added. 

If the ICJ trial against Israel is concluded in favour of South Africa, Rensburg believed that the U.S. may face sanctions even if it does not accept the verdict.

Earlier this month, a group of lawyers – which has now grown to 47 – wrote an open letter to the leaders of the U.S. and UK governments, stating that they could not avoid responsibility.

Despite the immense pressure to stop the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to “continue [the war] until victory,” saying in a televised address late on Saturday that “it is possible and necessary.”

“No one will stop us – not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil, and no one else,” Netanyahu said.” 

The war has been by far the bloodiest and most destructive episode of fighting in the decades-long clash between Israelis and Palestinians.