Johannesburg, Jan 31 (EFE).- South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor on Wednesday called on the international community to stop funding and facilitating Israel’s military operations in Gaza to prevent what she described as “genocide” against Palestinians in the besieged enclave.<\/p>
“States must act independently and immediately to prevent genocide by Israel and to ensure that they\u2026 are not themselves involved in violation of the Genocide Convention by aiding or assisting in the commission of genocide,” Pandor said at a press conference in Pretoria.<\/p>
She emphasized the significance of adhering to the ruling issued on Dec. 26 by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel.<\/p>
“This (ruling) necessarily imposes an obligation on all states to cease funding and facilitating Israel’s military actions, which, as the Court has indicated, are plausibly genocidal,” the foreign minister added.<\/p>
In its ruling, the United Nations\u2019 top court ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of genocide” in Gaza. <\/p>
The ICJ also urged Israel to adopt “immediate and effective measures” to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave, although it did not explicitly call for a “ceasefire” as a precautionary measure.<\/p>
Pandor described the ICJ verdict as a “victory” for international law and an “important milestone” in the pursuit of justice for the people of Palestine, urging the international community to comply with the ruling.<\/p>
\u201cAs South Africa will continue to do everything within our own power to preserve the existence of the Palestinian people as a group. We will do what we can to seek the ending of all acts of apartheid and genocide against the Palestinian people,\u201d she insisted.<\/p>
The South African government has long been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause. The ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), often draws parallels between the Palestinian cause and its historical struggle against the apartheid regime (1948-1994).<\/p>
The conflict between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7 after a multipronged attack by the Islamist group resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people in Israeli territory and the abduction of at least 240 hostages by militants.<\/p>
Since then, the Israeli military offensive in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of over 26,900 Palestinians, including more than 10,000 children, and the injury of another 65,949 people in the Strip. EFE<\/p>
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