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cyril ramaphosa
South African Lawmakers Vote to Cut Diplomatic Ties With Israel
The parliamentary vote came a day after South Africa's government—which accuses Israel of "genocide" in Gaza—called on the ICC to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Nov 21, 2023
South Africa's Parliament on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly for a suspension of diplomatic ties with Israel over what numerous lawmakers called its "genocidal" war on Gaza, a move that came a day after the country's government urged the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lawmakers voted 248-91 for the resolution calling on South Africa to cut ties with Israel until it agrees to a cease-fire in Gaza, where authorities say that 46 days of relentless bombardment by air, land, and sea has left more than 14,000 Palestinians—including more than 3,900 women and 5,800 children— dead, with tens of thousands more wounded, thousands missing beneath the rubble, and nearly 1.7 million people, or about 70% of the population, forcibly displaced.
Israel and Hamas on Tuesday appeared close to agreeing on a Qatar-brokered multiday cease-fire, although far-right Israeli officials including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich expressed opposition to the deal—which reportedly involves the release of around 50 Hamas hostages and Palestinian women and minors imprisoned by Israel.
Applause and chants of "Free, Free Palestine" and "From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free" rang out in South Africa's legislative chamber as the results of Tuesday's vote were announced.
The nonbinding motion, which requires presidential approval to take effect, was introduced by the left-wing opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). The measure is backed by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and opposed by the mostly white, largely pro-Israel Democratic Alliance.
"We support the amendment. We want to applaud the ANC for its maturity on this matter," said EFF leader Julius Malema. "It doesn't matter; politically we disagree, but when it comes to the issue of humanity, we must protect the human rights of all human beings all over the world."
The lawmakers' vote came on the same day that ANC South African President Cyril Ramaphosa asserted during a virtual meeting with leaders of the so-called BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—that "the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime."
"The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food, and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide," Ramaphosa said.
Calling out the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, Ramaphosa added that "in its attacks on civilians and by taking hostages, Hamas has also violated international law and must be held accountable for these actions."
Israel recalled its ambassador to South Africa, Eli Belotserkovsk, on Monday for consultations following Pretoria's call for an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
South Africa's government on Monday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The world cannot simply stand by and watch," ANC Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said Monday. "The global community needs to rise to stop this genocide now."
"Given that much of the global community is witnessing the commission of these crimes in real-time, including statements of genocidal intent by mainly Israeli leaders, we expect that warrants of arrest for these leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, should be issued shortly," she added.
Earlier this month, South Africa recalled all of its diplomats from Israel over what Ntshavheni called "the genocidal acts that the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinian people."
South Africa—which was an apartheid state for most of the latter half of the 20th century—has long been critical of Israeli apartheid and other human rights crimes in Palestine. In March, South African lawmakers voted to downgrade the country's embassy in response to what it called apartheid and illegal occupation being perpetrated against the Palestinians.
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South Africa Joins Growing List of Countries Cutting Ties With Israel Over 'Genocide' in Gaza
"A genocide under the watch of the international community cannot be tolerated," said one government official in South Africa.
Nov 06, 2023
In its latest show of solidarity with the Palestinian people, the government of South Africa on Monday announced it will withdraw all diplomatic staff from Israel over its objection to what one official called the Israeli military's "genocidal acts" against Gaza and the West Bank during its ongoing assault on the blockaded enclave.
All of South Africa's diplomats have been called back from Tel Aviv, said Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, a minister in the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who said last month that people in South Africa, where an official apartheid system was in place for more than four decades, "can relate to what is happening to Palestinians."
As the death toll in Gaza climbed over 10,000 and the number of children killed by Israel's bombardment surpassed 4,100, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told the press that the diplomatic mission was being recalled because "a genocide under the watch of the international community cannot be tolerated."
"The failure of the international community to hold Israel to account and... to stop the impunity and the genocidal acts that the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinian people will mean a total collapse of a multinational system," said Ntshavheni. "If... the United States does not stop the bombardment by Israel of the Palestinian territory, it will mean everybody will take matters in their own hands and do as they please."
The minister particularly expressed concern over comments made on Sunday by Amichay Eliyahu, the minister of heritage for Israel's Jewish Power party, in which he said dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza—home to more than 2 million people, about half of whom are children, is "one way" to neutralize the threat of Hamas, which killed more than 1,400 Israelis and took more than 200 people hostage on October 7. Eliyahu was suspended from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government on Sunday.
Ntshavheni also rebuked comments made by Eliav Belotserkovsky, the Israeli ambassador to South Africa, who made "disparaging remarks" about South Africans who have marched and protested against the bombardment of Gaza, including hundreds of people who marched in Cape Town last week and assembled outside the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg in October.
Supporters of Palestinians have called for Belotserkovsky to be expelled from the country in recent days.
Ntshavheni said South Africa's department of international relations is taking "the necessary measures within the diplomatic channels and protocols" to hold Belotserkovsky to account.
In March, South African lawmakers voted to downgrade the status of Israel's embassy in Pretoria in response to its apartheid policies in Palestine and its illegal occupation.
Bolivia became the first country to sever diplomatic relations with Israel earlier this month, citing the government's "disproportionate" attacks on Gaza. Chile, Colombia, Turkey, and Jordan, where Queen Rania Al Abdullah has emerged as an outspoken critic of Israel's onslaught on American news channels, have also withdrawn their diplomats.
Countries that have continued to back Israel, said former member of British Parliament Chris Williamson, "should be indicted for their collaboration in war crimes."
Naledi Pandor, minister of international relations in South Africa, said the government believes "the nature of response by Israel has become one of collective punishment," which is banned under international law.
"We need to have this engagement with our officials," said Pandor, "because we are extremely concerned at the continued killing of children and innocent civilians in the Palestinian territory."
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