South Africa Will Prosecute Its Citizens Participating In The Gaza War In Israel

The Blacklist SOUTH AFRICA The foreign minister of South Africa this week said that citizens of the country taking part in Israel’s war on Gaza will face prosecution when they return home, adding to tensions with Israel after South Africa accused it of genocide at the International Court of Justice, the Associated Press reported. At an event discussing South Africa’s support for Palestine and the petition filed at the United Nations’ Hague-based top court, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said she “already issued a statement alerting those who are South African and who are fighting alongside or in the Israeli Defense Force,” or IDF. “We are ready. When you come home, We’re going to arrest you,” she warned. The foreign ministry added that dual citizens of Israel and South Africa arrested for participating in the war could have their South African citizenship revoked. While the number of South Africans participating in Israel’s war effort is unclear, numbers published in other countries, such as France, have sparked discussions over creating similar measures, the Anadolu Agency noted. Meanwhile, Israel has declined to provide the number of foreign soldiers in the IDF’s ranks. Nonetheless, the IDF is currently attempting to determine which nations might follow South Africa’s lead, Israel’s Haaretz reported. It plans to contact soldiers with dual nationality and advise them on visiting their home countries. Citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Latvia are already banned from flying to these countries for security reasons. South Africa’s latest move has deepened a rift with Israel, following a court case launched by the former against the latter on charges of genocide, ongoing in the Hague. In response, Israel has accused South Africa of being complicit with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose attack on Israel on Oct. 7 left more than 1,200 dead and triggered the current war. Pandor rejected claims that her government had a political agenda in its support for Palestinians in the run-up to elections later this year. She said that the relationship between her country and Palestine is one “of freedom fighters, of activists, of nations that share a history. A history of struggle for justice and freedom,” referring to South Africa’s history of racial segregation, known as Apartheid. South Africa has accused Israel of conducting an apartheid against Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Share this story