South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters during a visit to Qatar on Wednesday evening that South Africa had “requested a referral” to the International Criminal Court (ICC) “because we believe war crimes are being committed in Gaza.”
The alleged crimes were being committed “in real time,” Ramaphosa said, citing Gaza’s largest health facility, al-Shifa Hospital, as an example.
Israel said Hamas had a command center beneath the hospital, a claim the Palestinian militant group denies.
However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that troops had found weapons, combat equipment and technical equipment during a raid on the facility.
“In the hospital we found weapons, intelligence material and military technology and equipment,” the AFP news agency quoted Israeli military chief spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari as saying.
The Hamas-run health ministry denied there were weapons in the hospital.
Israel says it has found a Hamas tunnel at al-Shifa hospital
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Israel has been bombing targets in the Gaza Strip for weeks in response to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed.
According to Hamas-run authorities, over 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza, most of them civilians.
What do South African political parties say?
South Africa’s far-left opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) proposed a parliamentary motion on Thursday to close the Israeli embassy in South Africa and suspend diplomatic relations.
“In the name of our own constitutional values, we must end these relationships until the human rights of Palestinians are respected, promoted and protected,” said EFF party leader Julius Malema.
“Israel must comply with international law and until then, all relations with them must be considered a violation of our constitution.”
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has approved the motion, which is expected to be voted on in parliament next week.
“In light of current atrocities in occupied Palestine, the ANC will agree to a parliamentary motion calling on the government to close the Israeli embassy in South Africa and suspend all diplomatic relations with Israel until Israel agrees to a ceasefire,” said the ANC’s national spokesman, Mahlengi Bhengu, in a statement.
However, Corne Mulder of the white nationalist party Freedom Front Plus (FF+) has warned against such a move.
“The fact is that if you expel Israel’s ambassador and break off all diplomatic relations with Israel, South Africa will not be able to play any role, either in terms of mediation or in terms of a chance to try.” positive and constructive role to end this conflict,” Mulder said.
DW journalist reports on his escape from Gaza
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Pro-Israel organizations attack the South African government
Benji Shulman, director of public policy at the South African Zionist Federation, hit back at the South African government, calling on it to stop interfering with Israel’s right to self-defense and instead facilitate the release of hostages held by Hamas.
“The South African Zionist Federation maintains that Israel continues to wage its defensive war against extremist Hamas organizations in accordance with international law against those who killed women and children, Holocaust survivors and also took 240 hostages of various nationalities,” Shulman said.
But political analyst Kwandile Kondlo agreed with the ANC’s stance.
“If the ICC cannot stand up and act, we have no reason to believe in this institution,” Kondlo said.
“If South Africa continues to be a member of this particular grouping, then I don’t know the reasons why. This is the moment for the ICC to strive to become a true institution, an international institution of justice.”
‘Double standards’
Some observers accused South Africa of double standards when it comes to its views on the International Criminal Court.
When the ICC ordered South Africa to execute an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin if he attended the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August, there were contradictory statements from both the government and the ruling ANC – with others calling for South Africa’s withdrawal the ICC.
Similar arguments were made in 2015 when South Africa failed to arrest former Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir, who had an ICC warrant for his arrest while attending the African Union summit in Johannesburg.
Edited by: Keith Walker
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