President Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed Pretoria is now moving beyond just nudging and calling for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestine conflict and has decided to refer Tel Aviv to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a war crime investigation.
Ramaphosa revealed this in a brief media engagement during his state visit to Qatar on Wednesday.
Protocols of the ICC allow member states to refer another state to the office of the ICC prosecutor, where they believe war crimes and other human rights violations are being committed, then it decides if it should launch a full war crimes’ investigation.
Ramaphosa said his administration resolved to refer the matter to the ICC as they believe the Israeli government was committing war crimes.
“As South Africa, we, with many countries around the world saw fit to refer this whole Israeli government action to the International Criminal Court. We have put through a referral because we believe that war crimes are being committed there,” he said.
“Of course, we do not condone the actions that were taken by Hamas earlier, but similarly, we condemn the actions that are now under way and believe that they warrant investigation by the ICC.”
The move indicates SA has been losing patience with Tel Aviv, after first withdrawing its diplomats from the Israeli capital, city civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip rose amid Israeli attacks.
The department of international relations last Friday read the riot act to Israeli ambassador to South Africa Eliav Belotsercovsky, issuing a démarche after his “recent unfortunate conduct relating to the unfolding, tragic Israel-Palestine war”.
During a question-and-answer session in parliament last week, international relations minister Naledi Pandor called for the ICC in The Hague to arrest Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for the killing of women, children and the elderly in his country’s war with Palestine.
During his two-day state visit to Qatar, Ramaphosa on Wednesday held the line, saying what was happening in Gaza amounted to genocide.
“We both abhor what is happening right now in Gaza, which has now turned into a concentration camp where genocide is taking place and we stated our position very clearly that we are opposed to the operations that are ongoing, particularly since it is now targeting hospitals where babies, women and the injured are dying like flies and where care of life is just something that has been completely ignored and put aside.”
Ramaphosa was referring to the reported entrance of Israeli military into Gaza’s main hospital in what has been described as a “targeted operation against Hamas”.
During their discussions, Ramaphosa said he and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Amir exchanged views on the geopolitical situation in the world, particularly in relation to the crisis unfolding in the Middle East.
“We thanked and applauded His Royal Highness for the interventions that Qatar is making to mediate in this crisis.”
Ramaphosa hailed Amir for the role he has played in negotiating for the release of hostages and advocating South Africa’s position that “the crisis between Israel and Palestine needs to be resolved through a two-state solution, where Palestine emerges as a fully fledged state as well as the continued existence of the Israeli state”.
The South African government, he said, has taken a very clear position to show support for the Palestinian struggle. “Our support is not only political it is also material, particularly in this time of great need. We are now, through our various organisations, extending help.”
At government level, South Africa will soon send aid such as medicine and related products to help people in Gaza. “That will also be extended to the West Bank because there is also quite a lot of suffering there. Our commitment to the struggle of the Palestinians is irrevocable and will go beyond just political, it will be practical.”
South Africa will work with the Egyptian government to facilitate the movement of goods. “We are in collaboration with them and other NGOs, particularly multilateral organisations like the World Health Organisation, Unicef and a number of others.”
On the calls for the Israeli prime minister to be arrested, Ramaphosa said many people around the world are “appalled” by what’s happening in Gaza.
“We are joining other countries and other organisations that are calling the ICC to investigate what is happening. As we see it unfolding before our own eyes, we can see that a war crime is under way, particularly at al-Shifa hospital, and we are completely opposed to what is happening.
“We are calling upon various countries to put pressure on Israel to immediately cease what they are doing. There is a separate need for a ceasefire now so that we can save more lives. Innocent lives have been lost, and the rules of law are no longer being observed, where children are being killed.
“Almost 11,000 of the people who have died in Gaza are children, and this is unprecedented in the history of the world that children and babies should be exposed to such a dangerous situation where they are taken out of incubators and die in the most cruel way, so there is a need for the whole world to rise and call upon the Israeli government to ceasefire, stop what is happening, and we want the ICC to investigate.
“Of course, legal measures need to be taken at a global level. The Israeli government has perfected a way in which it does not follow and implement decisions taken at the UN Security Council and other world forums. They have become a law unto themselves internationally, and this is totally unacceptable.”
Ramaphosa said international agencies, such as the ICC, need to take this matter up.
“The UNSC also needs to follow this matter up because it is completely unacceptable ... where there is collective punishment that results in the deaths of so many people. It’s unprecedented and it must stop.”
Ramaphosa said the two leaders were also able to discuss issues to extend trade and investment relations. “Both myself and His Royal Highness observed the signing of memoranda of understanding in terms of setting up a mechanism to extend and deepen the relationship between South Africa and Qatar, and also around education.”
The signing of three MOUs was the highlight of the trip, he said.
“We also looked at how investments and trade can be extended in the two countries and felt that we need to have a team of Qatari business and officials come to South Africa to look at opportunities.”
Ramaphosa said he was “heartened and encouraged” by sentiments made by Amir that there were no limits to how much investment could come from Qatar.
The South African delegation also met with Qatari business, and Ramaphosa said he hoped that these engagements would end up with contracts being signed between the two countries.
“Qatar is a very good investment destination for South African business and similarly South Africa is seen as a very fertile investment place for Qatari businesses. There are investments in renewable energy and they are willing to look at infrastructure as well as a number of other sectors of our economy.”
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