SA could be on the verge of temporarily closing Israel’s embassy in Pretoria and suspending all diplomatic relations with it until the Middle Eastern country agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas after the ANC pledged its support on Thursday for a parliamentary motion for the move.
The motion, which the EFF initiated, reflects the government’s strong condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza, which the ANC and the government consider a violation of international law and human rights, and “a genocide against the people of Palestine”.
“Given the unfolding atrocities in occupied Palestine, the ANC will agree to a parliamentary motion which calls upon the government to close the Israeli embassy in SA and suspend all diplomatic relations with it until Israel agrees to a ceasefire and commits to binding UN-facilitated negotiations whose outcome must be a just, sustainable and lasting peace,” the party said in a statement. “We cannot sit back and watch the genocidal actions of the Israeli regime.”
The process to close the embassy has already begun, with deputy international relations & co-operation minister Candith Mashego-Dlamini telling MPs during a debate that the matter is under consideration by the government.
Complaint
“The UN Security Council has proved incapable of stopping the carnage and protecting civilians against the Israeli onslaught,” Mashego-Dlamini said. “The SA government is considering further concrete action.”
The debate and the ANC comments come as SA takes steps towards laying a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court against the Israeli government, accusing it of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. It is also taking steps towards laying a complaint against Hamas after its attack on the southern parts of Israel.
The closure of the Israeli embassy, if it happens, would be the most drastic measure taken by SA to express its displeasure with the situation in Gaza, where more than 11,000 people have been killed or injured by Israeli air strikes and artillery fire since October 7.
Last week, Pretoria issued a démarche against Israel’s ambassador and withdrew its diplomats from Israel, which it also accuses of blocking supplies and services to Gaza such as food, fuel and electricity.
The war started more than a month ago after Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on the southern parts of Israel, killing 1,200 people. Israel has said it has the right to defend itself from rocket attacks and infiltration attempts by Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organisation that seeks to destroy Israel and denies its right to exist.
Gift of the Givers, a nonprofit organisation, said its head in Gaza, Ahmed Abbasi, was killed in an attack while returning from morning prayers with his brother on Thursday.
SA is not alone in taking a strong stance against Israel’s actions in Gaza. It joins other countries and organisations such as the UN, the Arab League, Turkey and Iran in calling for a ceasefire and a peaceful solution.
SA’s position on the conflict — it is one of the vocal advocates for a two-state solution in the decades-long impasse — is influenced by its history of struggle against apartheid, which it sees as analogous to what it calls the oppression and discrimination faced by Palestinians.
“We say no to the embassy of Israel in SA — that it must go, and it must go now. No justice, no peace,” Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF, said as he tabled the motion in a mini-plenary of the National Assembly.
Malema added that calls for SA to sever ties with Israel are not anti-Semitic. They are against the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the violation of Palestinians’ human rights.
Regressive
The house was divided on the matter with the ACDP, IFP and Freedom Front Plus (FF+) saying cutting ties with Israel would undermine the peace process in the region.
“It is tantamount to running away,” said the IFP’s Mkhuleko Hlengwa. “Recalling ambassadors or removing ambassadors amounts to regressive diplomacy.”
Corne Mulder of the FF+ said: “SA will not be in a position to play any role whatsoever in terms of any mediation or any chance to try to play a constructive and positive role to bring this conflict to an end.”
