‘Collective Conscience’ – South Africa’s Justice Minister Calls for Global Solidarity with Palestine

South African Minister Ronald Lamola. (Image: Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“We will continue to do so, despite threats that come from across the globe, because we believe we are standing on principles.”

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola has called on “the collective conscience” of the global community to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

“We continue to call on the collective conscience of the global community to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, to call Israel to stop the genocide that is currently unfolding,” Lamola said at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 53rd Annual Legislative Conference in Washington on Friday.

“We will continue to do so, despite threats that come from across the globe, because we believe we are standing on principles,” he added.

Lamola arrived in the US on Thursday for a weeklong visit, amid reports that Israeli diplomats are lobbying US lawmakers to pressure South Africa into dropping its genocide case against Tel Aviv at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Nelson Mandela’s Pledge

He reiterated his government’s support for the Palestinian cause, saying “We continue to champion for human rights in Gaza, we stand with the people of Palestine.”

“As you are aware this has been a historic position of the South African government informed by former president Mandela when he said that South Africa will not be free until the people of Palestine are free,” Lamola stated.

WATCH | Minister Ronald Lamola participates in the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 53rd Annual Legislative Conference Roundtable in Washington, USA 13 September 2024.https://t.co/9uoeSosbzz

— DIRCO South Africa (@DIRCO_ZA) September 13, 2024

He emphasized that South Africa “took a decision when the whole world was quiet,” saying that Israel’s response to the resistance operation of October 7 “is disproportionate to the offense committed.”

“It is going beyond self-defense as predicated by international law, and it is against this background that we went to the International Court of Justice to call for the state of Israel to cease fire to stop the maiming and the destruction of innocent children and women, to stop the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Palestine,” Lamola stated.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 41,118 Palestinians have been killed, and 95,125 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

ICJ Ruling

The ICJ, he stressed, took a resolution and indicated “that the state of Israel should cease its military operation … cease destruction of infrastructure.”

“Despite the Court’s ruling the state of Israel continues to do so,” Lamola stated.

‘Facts and Evidence’ – South Africa Says ICJ Genocide Case against Israel Will Continue

South Africa filed a case against Israel in late December arguing that it had violated its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention. The country has until October 28 to provide the UN court with its arguments for the case.

“South Africa intends to provide facts and evidence to prove that Israel is committing the crime of genocide in Palestine,” the government said in a statement on Tuesday. “This case will continue until the court makes a finding.”

Over 41,000 Killed

Israel has also flouted a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, and faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Tel Aviv says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(The Palestine Chronicle)