JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
South Africa has filed a
referral to the International Criminal Court for an investigation into alleged
war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
said.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
The move comes as South
African lawmakers were expected to debate a motion on Thursday calling for the
closure of the Israeli Embassy in South Africa and the cutting of all
diplomatic ties with the country until it agrees to a cease-fire.
Ramaphosa said his country
believes Israel is committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza, where thousands
of Palestinians have been killed and hospitals and public infrastructure have
been destroyed.
“As South Africa we have accordingly, together with many other countries across the world, referred this whole Israeli government action to the International Criminal Court," Ramaphosa said Wednesday during a state visit to Qatar.
“We have put through a
referral because we believe that war crimes are being committed there. And of
course we do not condone the actions that were taken by Hamas earlier, but
similarly we condemn the actions that are currently underway and believe that they
warrant an investigation by the ICC,” he added.
Ramaphosa’s ruling African
National Congress party said it would support the motion tabled by the leftist
opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters for the country to shut down the
Israeli Embassy and cut diplomatic ties with the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment