Pressure escalating on South Africa to break off ties with Israel, expel diplomats
Iran Press TV
Saturday, 02 August 2025 11:23 AM
South African officials are under increasing pressure to cut relations with Israel and expel the regime's diplomats, in light of the rising anger regarding its campaign of genocide through starvation in the Gaza Strip.
A number of activists stated that they have escalated their efforts to terminate what they describe as South Africa's complicity in Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza, where over 200,000 Palestinians have either lost their lives or sustained injuries, and the entire population is confronting famine.
Zukiswa Wanner, an author and activist, expressed that numerous South Africans believed Pretoria's choice to bring Israel before the International Court of Justice in late 2023 would lead to a quick resolution of the 22-month conflict; however, Israel, supported entirely by the West, persisted in its military offensive against the region.
"Almost two years later, Israel has not relented, and we continue seeing the horror visited on the Palestinians," Wanner said.
"As individuals, we are all quite powerless on pushing the stop of the genocide, but as citizens, we can demand of our government that they finalize this small thing: South Africa can't be having normal relations with an abnormal, genocidal regime."
Since Israel commenced its bloody onslaught against Gaza in October 2023, only Bolivia and Belize have cut diplomatic ties with Israel. At different times, the Muslim-majority nations of Bahrain, Chad, Jordan, and Turkey have recalled their ambassadors, yet all continue to have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Since 2018, South Africa has not appointed an ambassador to Israel. However, activists argue that the nation must adopt a more assertive stance against Israel.
Numerous South Africans have expressed their profound disappointment regarding President Cyril Ramaphosa's government's choice to disregard parliament's decision from November 2023 to cut relations with Israel.
"Other countries have disengaged with Israel without the fanfare we brought to the table," Wanner added.
This week, a petition initiated by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) that calls on the government to close the Israeli embassy has garnered several thousand signatures.
"You have rightly brought a case of genocide against Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), so you have determined Israel is committing genocide. How then can we continue to have diplomatic and economic relations with that genocidal state?" the petition reads.
In various regions of South Africa, discontent regarding Israel's war on Gaza and its brutal occupation of the West Bank has led to numerous protests at traffic signals, as well as outside embassies and ports.
Activists in the port city of Durban have mobilized this week following reports that a vessel traveling from South Africa to the Israeli-occupied territories was carrying cargo that could be utilized in the war.
Local activists were informed by the South African Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) coalition that the ship, which came from Chennai, India, was transporting "hazardous materials."
Given that India has previously supplied combat drones, along with shipments of explosives and components to the Israeli-occupied lands, the activists expressed their obligation to intervene in order to stop Durban from serving as a conduit for the killing of Palestinians.
A significant number of South Africans mobilized through social media platforms, reaching out to both local and national representatives, along with the police, demanding that the ship be inspected and that Pretoria adhere to its commitments in international law.
At least 60,332 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 148,870 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
