Throughout 2024, the ICJ case court brought by South Africa against Israel made the country’s support for the Palestinian cause shine globally[GETTY]
South Africa, which has emerged as a leading supporter of Palestinian rights, has hit back against Donald Trump who has brought out his foreign policy sledgehammer swinging against Capetown after antagonising both allies and adversaries far and wide.
On Sunday, Trump vowed to punish through sanctions or tariffs South Africa for signing the Land Expropriation Bill and for siding with countries that are ‘anti-Israeli’, prompting his Secretary of State Marco Rubio to boycott the G20 summit this month in Johannesburg in a later announcement.
In response to Donald Trump, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said during the State of the Nation Address on 6 February that South Africans will continue fighting for a free Palestine.
Ramaphosa said,“South Africa continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, who,having endured decades of illegal occupation, are now experiencing indescribable suffering. South Africa has acted in accordance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention by instituiting proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice. We support the principle of respect of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states and peoples.”
“In the face of these challenges, we are witnessing the rise of nationalism and protectionism, the pursuit of narrow interests and the decline of common cause. But we are not daunted. We will not be bullied,” he added.
The Trump administration, the most right wing in U.S. history and the most unabashaded endorser of Israeli revisionist Zionism, is using all its power to punish support for Palestine. On Friday, it imposed sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) for what it claimed is “illegitimate and baseless” investigations targeting America and its ally Israel.
It will not be long before the administration will come after the other UN court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and this is where South Africa could be in its crosshairs. But the government and civil society in South Africa are not deterred.
On 31 January, South Africa announced the formation of The Hague Group with eight other countries that resolved to act in solidarity with Palestine through a concrete set of shared commitments. The members say they refuse to remain passive in the face of international crime committed by Israel.
The countries are Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal as well as South Africa.
Some of the demands by The Hague Group are the execution of orders of the ICJ in the case South Africa brought against Israel so that Israel complies with the findings. The group also wants ICC warrants of arrest against PM Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-defence minister Yoav Gallant to bear criminal responsibility for the war for intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population, committing war crimes by using starvation as a method of warfare and committing the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhuman acts.
The Hague groups also pledged to prevent the provision or transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment to Israel, in all cases where there is a clear risk that such arms and related items might be used to commit or facilitate violations of humanitarian law, international human rights law, or the prohibition on genocide.
This, their foundational statement said, includes preventing the docking of vessels at any port, if applicable, within their territorial jurisdiction, in all cases where there is a clear risk of the vessel being used to carry military fuel and weaponry to Israel, which might be used to commit or facilitate violations of humanitarian law, of international human rights law, and of the prohibition on genocide in Palestine.
The Hague Group further stated that, “We will take further effective measures to end Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine and remove obstacles to the realisation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine.”
Trump’s Gaza plan
South Africa’s position has been inadvertently also bolstered by Donald Trump’s surprise remarks of planning to forcibly remove Palestinians from their homeland to neighbouring countries.
South Africa’s Palestine Solidarity Alliance said in a statement, “The Palestine Solidarity Alliance(PSA) and the PSA Youth League (PSA YL) unequivocally condemns the recent remarks and proposals by U.S. President Donald Trump, which advocate for the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, frame Gaza as a demolition site and suggest that Palestinians would prefer exile over reclaiming their homeland. His vision of transforming Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” under U.S control is not only a gross violation of international law but also a continuation of colonial and imperialist policies aimed at erasing Palestinian identity and sovereignty.”
PSA said forced displacement was an act of ethnic cleansing aimed at uprooting an entire population from their homeland.
“The suggestion that Palestinians should be relocated to neighbouring countries such as Egypt or Jordan ignores their historical and legal right to remain on their land. It also perpetuates a colonial mindset in which powerful states dictate the fate of oppressed peoples without their consent.”
PSA further said the U.S. continuous supply of bombs, ammunition and military aid by the United States to Israel underscores its complicity in the ongoing genocide and war crimes being committed in Gaza.
PSA explained,”The hypocrisy of the U.S policy is glaring. While President Trump has criticised South Africa’s Expropriation Bill under the guise of protecting property rights, he simultaneously supports Israel’s illegal expropriation of Palestinian land in Gaza under the guise of development.
“Trump’s proposals mirror the events of the Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948, when over 750 000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes to pave way for the creation of what is known by the West today as the State of Israel. Entire villages were destroyed, families were torn apart, and refugees were denied the right to return…”
Not letting Israel off the hook
While most of South Africa’s Palestine solidarity community welcomed the recent ceasefire in Gaza, they have been cautioning against letting Israel off the hook.
One of the fiercest proponents of a free Palestine, the SA BDS Coalition insisted that the first step to a peaceful ceasefire was to ensure that Israel will not violate the terms of the ceasefire and that a true ceasefire will only hold after schools, universities, hospitals and access to aid are fully operational.
SA BDS Coalition said, “A ceasefire, however,is only the most important first step to end the genocide against the 2,3 million Palestinians in the illegally occupied besieged Gaza Strip. The genocide could not have occured without the political and military support provided by the US, Germany, the UK, and other European states. Since Ocober 2023, the US has provided over $26 billion in armaments to Israel.
“We remember the over 46,000 martyrs, 70% of whom are women and children as well as the thousands unaccounted for, buried under the rubble.”
SA BDS Coalition added, “It (Israel) must allow humanitarian aid in without restriction in order to ease its induced famine and the spread of infectious diseases. According to UNRWA, 90% of Palestinians in Gaza, or 1,9 million,are internally displaced. All those who fled their homes must be allowed to return to what is left of those homes and assisted to rebuild.”
The organization demanded a permanent ceasefire that requires the occupation forces to permanently leave Gaza and the West Bank, with schools, universities, and healthcare workers as well journalists allowed to operate freely.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), told The New Arab that thousands have died in Palestine so while a ceasefire was welcome Netanyahu should get arrested for committing mass murders.
SAFTU’s Soli Malema said, “We are therefore in support of the ceasefire, however imperfect it may be, as it halts the needless loss of Palestinian lives. The Israeli regime, which is solely responsible for the hundreds of deaths of healthcare workers, must be held responsible.
“The act of attacking medical installations, hospitals and medical personnel is in clear violation of the Geneva Convention. Netanyahu and those of his regime responsible for these deaths must be brought before the International Criminal Court to face charges and prosecution of the death, destruction and carnage they brought upon the healthcare facilities and healthcare workers.”
Meanwhile Reggy Moalusi of the South African National Editors Forum told The New Arab, “We have always lamented and condemned the killing of journalists, and those killed in Gaza have always been in our thoughts.”
For its part, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation(DIRCO) said in a statement, “South Africa calls for the implementation of a just and lasting peace that ensures the human rights of both Palestinians and Israelis are protected and promoted. The ceasefire agreement is a crucial first step toward ending the severe humanitarian crisis faced by the 2.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has deemed to be plausibly genocidal.”
“It is imperative that no land is annexed in either Gaza or the West Bank following the ceasefire, and that illegal settlement expansion is halted.In accordance with the successive rulings of the ICJ, the provisional measures prescribed by the ICJ must be adhered to by the occupying power. International law and humanitarian law must be respected and upheld.”
