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South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said IDF soldiers holding dual Israeli-South African citizenship will be subject to immediate arrest.
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"I've already issued a statement alerting those who are South African and who are fighting alongside or in the Israel Defense Forces: 'We are ready. When you come home, we're going to arrest you,'" the minister said
The Foreign Ministry in Pretoria issued a warning in December to its nationals living in Israel, cautioning them that enlisting in the IDF could expose them to legal consequences in South Africa for violating international law.
"The South African Government is gravely concerned by reports that some South African citizens and permanent residents have joined or are considering joining the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the war in Gaza and in the other Occupied Palestinian Territories,” the ministry said in a statement.
Speaking to an audience at the African National Conference (ANC), Pandor said the government has a role and was working to make a case at the International Criminal Court (ICJ) where it accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
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South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor speaking outside the ICJ
(Photo: Remko de Waal / EPA)
"But you must be activists. You must also play your role," she told the audience, "You must say thank you El Al. Good bye." She went on to say that the Israeli carrier stopped their flights to South Africa because the have no passengers there.
In her speech, the Muslim South African minister said the ANC had support in the past from Palestinians in their struggle to be free and in the fight against colonialism.
"We've been together in struggle for many, many, decades. The people of Palestine trained the freedom fighters of the liberation movement," she said.