Exclusive: SA Pandor says 'Israel' continues to destroy Palestinians
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South African Foreign Minister Naledi Mandore told Al Mayadeen in an interview that the Israeli occupation is actively attempting to destroy the Palestinian people.
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South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, center, addresses a news conference in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 (AP Photo/Sebabatso Mosamo)
South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told Al Mayadeen that her country had informed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of its concerns with "Israel" failing to comply with its ruling to avoid genocide in Gaza.
In an exclusive interview, Pandor expressed that "Israel affirms our view that it actually has the intention to destroy the people of Palestine."
Pandor revealed that South Africa had contacted the ICJ to raise concerns regarding "Israel's" ignoring of the interim ruling by the court.
She also stressed that the country wishes to move forward with objective arguments that demonstrate South Africa's belief that "Israel" is indeed committing genocide in the strip.
Pandor revealed with pleasure that numerous countries announced they will also join the case against "Israel," noting that legal papers have been prepared although there was yet to be a date for the hearing.
Days ago, South Africa's Ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, urged nations worldwide to provide testimony in the case filed against Israeli atrocities in Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In January, South Africa initiated the genocide case, leading to the ICJ's subsequent order for the Israeli regime to cease its genocidal actions in Gaza, among other measures.
The court is currently considering arguments in a separate case concerning the prolonged Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, initiated over a year ago following a request from the UN General Assembly.
The hearings, which commenced on February 19, are set to conclude this Monday. Over 50 countries and various regional blocs, including the African Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), presented their perspectives before the 15-judge bench at the United Nations' principal court. During the second hearing on Tuesday (Feb. 20), South Africa's representative, Madonsela, characterized Israeli policies toward Palestinians as an "extreme form of apartheid.
These hearings are part of a Palestinian effort to have international legal institutions scrutinize Israeli atrocities. "Israel", not participating in the hearings, said in written comments that the Court's involvement could be detrimental to achieving a negotiated settlement.
'Israeli apartheid worse than what South Africa endured': ICJ hearings
In a continuous show of pro-Palestine solidarity, South Africa slammed "Israel's" apartheid in Palestine as worse than the one it experienced pre-1994, at the ICJ last week.
"We as South Africans sense, see, hear, and feel to our core the inhumane discriminatory policies and practices of the Israeli regime as an even more extreme form of the apartheid that was institutionalized against black people in my country," said South Africa's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, at the top court.
Madonsela added that the Israeli apartheid, being a crime itself, is simultaneously and fundamentally settler colonialism that South Africa felt obligated "to call out and end."
