Arthur Lenk
Jerusalem Post, Feb. 9, 2024
“Although it regularly called for a two-state solution, South Africa increasingly tilted its relationship toward the Palestinians and away from any engagement with Israel. It has left behind any aspirations of Mandela or Mbeki to positively impact a Middle East peace process.”
South Africa initiated a legal proceeding against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on December 29, 2023, claiming that Israel violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention. This action should not be seen as surprising, given the history of South Africa’s relations with Israel and the Palestinians over the years and given South Africa’s domestic and foreign policy needs and priorities entering 2024.
Although there is certainly a significant amount of cynicism and opportunism in the action taken on behalf of the Palestinians, the step fits with the positions and statements of South Africa since the beginning of the current war between Israel and Gaza, which began with Hamas’s massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.
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