The South African government is yet to take a position on whether to cut diplomatic ties with Israel by shutting down the Jewish state’s embassy in Pretoria, three months after parliamentarians voted in favour of closing the office in protest at attacks by the Jewish state on Palestinian civilians.
This was revealed by International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor when she addressed parliament in Cape Town on Wednesday.
In response to a question from a member of parliament, the minister noted that while Pretoria remained “deeply concerned” about the Israel-Gaza war, the matter of officially shutting down Tel Aviv’s embassy in the country has yet to be finalised by the South African cabinet.
“The cabinet has indeed received the notice of the resolution that was adopted by the National Assembly and cabinet is yet to deliberate and finalise the issue of closure of the Israeli embassy in South Africa and the suspension of all diplomatic ties until a ceasefire is agreed to by Israel,” Pandor said.
South African lawmakers voted last November in favour of a resolution to close the Israeli embassy in Pretoria.
The decision came in response to Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip since October 2023, a conflict that has tragically claimed about 30,000 lives, predominantly women and children.
While the Israeli ambassador to South Africa, Eliav Belotserkovsky, was withdrawn by his government during the onset of the Israel-Gaza conflict in October, South Africa took its own decisive step by closing its embassy in Tel Aviv, leaving operational services for citizens in the Middle East region solely through the embassy in Ramallah, located in the occupied West Bank.
Israel’s recent threat to the lives of 1.2 million people in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, underscores the urgency of finding a peaceful resolution.
NM/jn/APA