Diplomat Nalendi Pandor says she sees “very clear similarities” between the Israeli occupation and the apartheid system.
The world has seen enough of the tragedy in Gaza and it is time for countries to use their influence on Israel to stop “this real crime against humanity”, South African Foreign Minister says , Naledi Pandora.
South Africa was one of the few countries to cut ties with Israel in response to its attack on the Gaza Strip.
Pandor told Tel Aviv Tribune on Wednesday that his government could take Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as it continues its attack on Gaza.
“We are appalled to see how this horror and tragedy continues to worsen. I think the world has seen enough, and it is time for the most powerful in the world to put an end to this horror that Israel is unleashing against the Palestinian people,” she said.
“Only countries that have influence over Israel can put an end to this real crime against humanity that we see before our eyes. »
The Palestinian people are experiencing conditions similar to those in apartheid South Africa, she added.
South Africa has been outspoken about the plight of the Palestinians and recalled its diplomats from Israel this month, as the death toll from Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continues to rise.
Palestinian authorities have said more than 11,200 people in Gaza, more than a third of them children, have been killed since Israel began its attack on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a Hamas attack that it said Israeli authorities, killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians. .
Although this Hamas attack was widely condemned, Israel’s response has drawn criticism as a campaign of relentless airstrikes has wiped out entire neighborhoods and an Israeli siege blocks access to basic necessities such as as food, fuel and electricity for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
The United Nations said about 70 percent of Gaza’s residents have been displaced, with few shelter options as Israeli strikes hit every corner of the strip, including areas where Israel has asked Palestinians to resettle in order to avoid fighting.
“We could have expected the ICC to react much sooner because thousands of people were mowed down,” Pandor said. “And these are innocent Palestinians who have suffered decades of harassment and occupation. »
This occupation, she said, also has “very, very clear similarities” to some of the practices that defined apartheid in South Africa.
“We know that people cannot own property (and) that property can be seized without any compensation, which is what we have experienced in our own country. People must carry identification documents that reflect your ethnicity rather than your citizenship. This is all part of apartheid,” Pandor told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“It cannot therefore be denied that the corollary of the conduct of the Israeli state towards the Palestinian people is so closely linked to the conduct of apartheid. »