South Africa on Friday called on the international community to pursue “other measures” to end the decades-long impunity by Israel as the Jewish state continues to ignore pleas to stop its ongoing offensive against Palestinians.
The call by South Africa’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation comes in the wake of Thursday’s massacre of 112 Palestinians by Israeli forces.
The attack, which left at least 760 others injured, occurred as civilians sought life-saving aid amid the ongoing onslaught on the Gaza Strip.
The ministry said the latest atrocity was another breach of international law and in violation of the binding provisional orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued after South Africa approached the Netherland-based World Court last month with a complaint against Israel over its genocidal actions against Palestinians since October 2023.
“Legal remedies are one route to end institutionalised impunity that Israel has enjoyed for decades, which has emboldened them to act in the manner they have been doing on Thursday, 29 February 2024 and for decades before that,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added: “Legal remedies are not sufficient though and the international community must now consider other measures to end the unlawful actions of the Israeli government.”
An effective first step would be an unconditional call for a ceasefire by the United Nations Security Council, it said.
“An immediate and unconditional call for a ceasefire is now a moral and life-saving necessity.”
The call by South Africa came as the death toll in nearly five months of the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip passed 30,000 on Thursday, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israel insists that its offensive on the Gaza Strip is justified and meant to extinguish the threat posed by Hamas militants who operate from the Palestinian enclave.
JN/APA