The White House on Wednesday criticized South Africa’s “baseless” application to the UN International Court of Justice against Israel for “genocide” in the Gaza Strip, AFP reported.

“This request is baseless, counterproductive and not based on facts,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

“We don’t see it as a productive measure at this time,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said when asked during his press briefing.

He rejected the accusations against Israel, whose main ally and military supporter is the United States.

According to Miller, the United States has found “no act of genocide at this stage” in Israel’s war against Hamas’s Palestinians.

The UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s highest judicial body, will next week hold its first public hearing in South Africa’s case against Israel.

South Africa wants the International Court of Justice to order an emergency halt to military operations in Gaza, arguing that Israel “has participated, is participating, and may continue to participate in acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” according to the court.

Israel denies these allegations.

South Africa, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, has been one of the countries most critical of Israel’s bombing of Gaza since the bloody attacks by Hamas on Israel on October 7.