Israel is perpetrating genocide – Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has told the National Assembly he is confident that SA will prove that Israel is perpetrating genocide against the people of Palestine, says a News24 report. The leader of the opposition, John Hlophe, asked Ramaphosa what his administration was doing to ensure that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling is respected, ‘particularly in light of the ongoing brutality in the region’. In January, the ICJ handed down an interim order and ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, before SA's main application to have Israel's actions declared as genocide are heard. This did not put a stop to Israel's military actions in Gaza, and the civilian death count and destruction of infrastructure continued to rise. In March, the ICJ ordered additional provisional measures, that Israel may not prevent basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Ramaphosa said his administration continues to approach the court with further pleas and submissions to strengthen the ruling it made in January. He added that SA was fortunate that other countries joined the action. The President said they are in the process of preparing an ‘almost 500-page case’ for the court where SA will prove that a genocide is taking place in Gaza. He said the only solution for ‘the horror that is unfolding in Palestine’ is for it to have their own state ‘side by side with Israel’. ‘We are confident that we have a solid case to prove that genocide is happening in Palestine,’ said Ramaphosa.

Full News24 report

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa rebuffed a suggestion by Hlophe that SA’s foreign policy is not centred on Africa. A Business Day report says the President was adamant that ‘Africa stands at the centre of our foreign policy’ which was rooted in the promotion of pan-Africanism. Hlophe wanted to know how Ramaphosa could justify SA’s foreign policy ‘which often seems more aligned with Western interests than with the needs of the African continent’. He also wanted to know what steps the President had taken to ensure that SA remained a leader in promoting African unity and self-determination. Ramaphosa said SA was firmly committed to strengthening the AU, the Southern African Development Community, as well as instruments of peace, stability, integration and development in the region and the continent. ‘Our country plays a leading role in several continental platforms and issues. We are the chair of the presidential infrastructure initiative. We are currently the AU champion on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.’ He said SA was working closely with other countries on the continent towards the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which was set to eliminate trade barriers. ‘We continue to work within the AU to end several ongoing conflicts on our continent to restore constitutional and democratic government to countries that have recently experienced coups.’

Full Business Day report