APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) has called for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the killing of 15,000 Palestinians – including 5,000 children – living in the Gaza Strip.
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalule told hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters gathered in Johannesburg on Wednesday, that the ICC should deal with Netanyahu in the same way that it treated Russian President Vladimir Putin in the heat of the country’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Mbalula said if the ICC failed to arrest Netanyahu, it would be allowing him to get away with violating the human rights of Palestinians.
“Why are you leaving out a murderer like Netanyahu. Netanyahu must be arrested now?” he told the gathering.
The ANC’s stance was that Israel’s embassy in Pretoria must be closed, Mbalula said.
“That embassy must be shut down – not yesterday but today,” he added.
Despite the Parliament voting to close the Israeli embassy last week, the South Africa presidency and the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said it would not be advisable to completely cut diplomatic ties with Israel.
The protesters pledged support to the occupied Middle Eastern enclave besieged by Israel’s daily bombings and killings for over a month until the current temporary truce reached a week ago.
NM/jn/APA