South African President Matamela Ramaphosa announced that his country had filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in order to investigate “war crimes” committed by the Israeli occupation state in the Gaza Strip.
This step comes in conjunction with expectations that representatives of Parliament in South Africa will discuss a proposal calling for the closure of the Tel Aviv embassy in Pretoria and the severing of all diplomatic relations with Israel until it agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Ramaphosa said that his country believes that Israel is committing war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip in which thousands of Palestinians were killed in addition to the destruction of hospitals and public infrastructure.
Ramaphosa added during his visit to Qatar: “We in South Africa along with many other countries around the world submitted this complaint against Israel to the International Criminal Court because we believe that war crimes are being committed there.”
He continued “We condemn the current Israeli measures and believe that they require the International Criminal Court to conduct an investigation.”
The ruling African National Congress led by Ramaphosa said it would support the proposal made by the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party to close the Tel Aviv embassy and sever diplomatic relations with Israel.
