Members of Parliament in both houses – the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Tuesday condemned the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, while views diverged on how to address the issue.
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, delivered a statement in the NA explaining South Africa’s position on the Israel/Palestine crisis and reiterated South Africa’s call for reform of international governance bodies such as the United Nations. In the statement preceding the debate by MPs, she referred to the “frustration throughout the world that people are attacked and losing their lives with little or no action to stop these atrocities”.
Thousands have died since 7 October – a month ago – when over a thousand Israelis were killed in a bombing by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas and over 200 were reportedly taken hostage. Israel retaliated by bombing of Gaza reportedly leaving thousands of Palestinians dead, wounded and displaced.
Reiterating the South African government’s position, Dr Pandor said the country “remains steadfast in calling for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire and the full – as well as complete – opening of all military corridors to ensure much-needed aid and basic services reach those in need”.
“The collective punishment that Israel is exacting on all Palestinian people is an affront that has gone on for too long,” she said.
Cabinet has also since announced that South Africa are recalling its diplomatic representatives in Israel – a decision some opposition MPs criticised during the debate.
Last month, South Africa was among United Nations member states calling for a ceasefire in the UN General Assembly, but Dr Pandor told MPs, this too was ignored. “It is impossible for us to continue to proclaim the importance of international law and the importance of the UN Charter for some situations and not for others,” she said, adding that the rule of law seemingly only applies to a select few. “For international law to be credible, it should be uniformly applied and not be selective.”
Dr Pandor said, “The notion of Israel's right to defend itself through military means has been used erroneously in international law by many and deliberately by others to justify the unlawful use of force by Israel on the people of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank. The crime of genocide,” she said, “sadly looms large in the current situation in Gaza.”
The Minister accused the Israel of violating international law and called on the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli top leadership, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Dr Pandor also drew parallels with the continent’s own genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994. Then too, she said the world was watching while innocent people were massacred despite an international system that was established after the Second World War to ensure that those type of atrocities are not repeated. According to her, there are also various international judicial mechanisms created since to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself, but the selective application of these international instruments – often for own narrow self-interests – are calling into question the credibility and effectiveness of this system.
“It is a system that has failed the people of Gaza as it did in 1994 the people of Rwanda. What is needed now, more than ever before, is reforming the system of global governance so that it is fair, equitable, and has the capacity to respond to the needs of all persons in situations of threat and harm,” Dr Pandor said. “The system that is needed should not just be a tool for the most powerful country in the world, but one that provides protection for the most vulnerable. The inadequacy of the UN Security Council, which we pointed to many times – a council that has a mandate derived from the UN Charter for maintaining international peace and security – has become an affront.” Dr Pandor said due to the politicisation of this body, it has until now been unable to call for a much-needed ceasefire to get humanitarian aid to those who need it. “This one to once again illustrates the urgent need for the reform of this body.”
By Alicestine October
8 Wednesday 2023
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