APA-Pretoria (South Africa) South Africa has summoned Israel’s top envoy in the country Eliav Belotserkovsky to discuss what Pretoria called his recent “unfortunate conduct” in relation to the Israel-Palestine war.
Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said on Friday that its director general (DG) Zane Dangor had met with Belotserkovsky in Pretoria to express South Africa’s “grave concerns regarding the current trajectory of events, especially the attacks on Gaza, which has seen over 10,500 civilians, including over 4,300 children killed by Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks on the people of Gaza.”
“The DG stated that South Africa condemned the attacks on civilians by Hamas and stated that these actions should be investigated for war crimes,” the ministry said in a statement.
It revealed that Dangor told Belotserkovsky that “the response by Israel was unlawful” and stated that South Africa wanted the International Criminal Court (ICC) “to investigate the leadership of Israel for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.”
South Africa this week recalled its diplomats from Tel Aviv “to assess its relationship with the country amid a rise in civilian casualties from attacks by Israel on Gaza.”
The summoning of Belotserkovsky comes in the wake of recent comments by the ambassador in response to a recent speech in parliament by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor in which she called for the ICC to investigate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes.
Belotserkovsky made the critical comments over the minister’s speech without having discussed them with senior members of the host government as required by the Geneva Conventions on diplomatic conduct, according to Dangor.
During the audience with the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation on Friday in Pretoria, Dangor warned the envoy that his behaviour would not be tolerated by government.
NM/jn/APA