CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accused Israel of war crimes and acts in the Gaza Strip that “tantamount to genocide” during a virtual meeting Tuesday of leaders of developing countries, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping. .
Ramaphosa also condemned Hamas for its attack on Israeli civilians that sparked the war in Gaza, saying both sides had violated international law.
“Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force is a war crime,” Ramaphosa said at the start of the meeting of heads of state and government and top diplomats from the BRICS bloc. “The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza amounts to genocide.”
“With its attacks on civilians and hostage-taking, Hamas has also violated international law and must be held accountable for these actions,” Ramaphosa said.
Putin and Xi struck more cautious tones, calling for a ceasefire and the release of civilian hostages, but did not express the same level of criticism of both sides as Ramaphosa.
The meeting was also attended by leaders and officials from fellow BRICS members Brazil and India, as well as Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, which will join the bloc in January.
Ramaphosa chaired the “extraordinary meeting” and delivered the opening speech, as South Africa is currently the chair of the BRICS.
Putin said a “humanitarian catastrophe” was unfolding in Gaza and it was “shocking to see children being operated on without anesthesia.” He again blamed the crisis on failed diplomacy by the United States.
“All of these events are, in fact, a direct consequence of the US desire to monopolize the mediation functions in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement,” Putin said during a conference call in the Kremlin. He called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the liberation of hostage-takers and the evacuation of civilians from the Gaza Strip.
Putin’s comments were in line with Russia’s cautious approach to the Israel-Hamas war, which could represent an opportunity for the country to expand its role as a global power broker. Putin suggested last month that Moscow could mediate in the conflict because of its ties with both Israel and the Palestinians. He said on Tuesday that the BRICS bloc could play “a key role” in finding a political solution.
Putin condemned the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on towns in southern Israel that led to Israel’s offensive in Gaza, now in its seventh week, while warning Israel of its response and against a blockade of the Gaza Strip .
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, two-thirds of them women and minors, and more than 2,700 others are missing and presumed buried under rubble. The ministry says it has not been able to update its count since November 11 due to the collapse of the health sector.
Health officials in the Gaza Strip say the number of victims has risen sharply since then, and hospitals continue to report deaths from daily strikes, often dozens at a time.
The Health Ministry in the West Bank most recently reported a number of 13,300 victims, but stopped reporting its own figure on Tuesday without giving a reason. For that reason, and because officials there refused to explain in detail how they tracked deaths after Nov. 11, the AP decided to stop reporting the number of deaths.
The Ministry of Health toll does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas militants but has provided no evidence of the number.
Russia and China are the leading voices in the BRICS countries, which in recent years have largely positioned themselves as opponents of the West’s perceived dominance in global affairs. However, due to the different priorities of the five current members, it finds it difficult to represent a unified policy or position on many issues.
The meeting came a day after China’s top diplomat hosted the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Indonesia in Beijing, their first stop on a trip to visit the permanent members of the UN Security Council. This underscores China’s longstanding support for the Palestinians and its growing geopolitical influence.
India, which also wants to be seen as a leading country in the developing world, has long walked a fine line between Israel and the Palestinians and has historically maintained close ties with both.
South Africa has sharply criticized Israel over the war in Gaza and has already applied to the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged war crimes. South Africa has for years compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank to its own former apartheid regime of racial segregation.
Ramaphosa called on the International Criminal Court to “urgently” bring prosecutions against those responsible for war crimes on both sides, saying South Africa also wanted a ceasefire and the deployment of a UN force to monitor the ceasefire.
Later on Tuesday, a large majority of South African lawmakers voted in favor of a motion to close the Israeli embassy and cut diplomatic ties with Israel until it agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel recalled its ambassador for consultations before the vote.
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AP coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas: https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war