Gaza: South Africa calls on ICC to issue arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister
TOPSHOT - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the budget session at the parliament in Jerusalem on May 23, 2023. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)
In its further show of relentless support for the Palestinian struggle, the South African government has again urged the International Crime Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the year runs out.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said any failure to bring the Israeli Prime Minister to book would signal a “total failure” of global governance.
She added that “the world cannot simply stand by and watch.”
Despite claiming that it is minimizing civilian casualties in military offensives, the South African official said the Israeli government was trying to “clear most of Gaza of Palestinians and occupy it”.
South Africa has long been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, and the ruling ANC likened it to their struggle against apartheid, where a white minority ruled over a black majority.
Recall that South Africa, along with Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, and Djibouti, recently submitted a referral to the ICC to probe whether war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in the ongoing military offensives on Gaza by Israel.
The Cyril Ramaphosa-led government also announced the withdrawal of its diplomats from Israel, stressing that the position of Israel’s ambassador to Pretoria was becoming “untenable”.
Israel says it is defending itself following the October 7 attack by Hamas, which saw 1,200 people killed and more than 200 taken hostage.
Meanwhile, more than 13,000 people in Gaza have now been confirmed killed, and thousands of others have been severely injured since the fighting started.
