Israel has no moral standing in Gaza - South African justice minister

RT
Mon, 15 Jan 2024 15:00 UTC

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South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola

Pretoria's case is backed by international law and UN conventions, Ronald Lamola told RT...

Israel has no moral standing in Gaza and cannot commit genocide in the name of self-defense, South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has told RT in an exclusive interview as Pretoria's case continues before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Lamola, who is also a lawyer, said South Africa had presented a compelling case to the ICJ based on "meticulous arguments, evidence, and also backed by international law and conventions of the UN."

He said Israel had "no moral standing" in Gaza, where they are "occupiers", adding that nobody can "commit genocide in self-defense; it's not backed by international law."

"The victims must be able to stand up for their rights, and it is countries like South Africa and other people of the world who are signatories to the genocide convention," Lamola said.

If South Africa does not win the case, "the struggle continues." However, "irrespective of the outcome, we have been able to expose the hypocrisy of the powers that be in the world," the justice minister added.

He argued that Israel and Hamas "should cease fire, sit at the table, [and] resolve dialogue in line with the UN resolutions."

Pretoria expects that there will be an "immediate cessation of fire in Gaza, allowing humanitarian aid, and allowing engagements to continue to find long-lasting peaceful solutions for the people of Gaza... anchored on the UN resolution on a two-state solution," Lamola said.

He added that the world "will put pressure on Israel" to stop what's happening and push for a two-state solution.

The ICJ began hearing South Africa's application in The Hague on Thursday, which accuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians.

Comment: Nomvula Paula Mokonyane, offered remarks:

The Israeli government's goal is to eliminate the Palestinians, the first deputy secretary-general of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), Nomvula Paula Mokonyane, has told RT in an exclusive interview.

Mokonyane said the situation in Gaza, in which children are killed in a hospital, is "an act against humanity," adding that South Africa took the case to The Hague to "stop [Israel's] intention of eliminating the Palestinians."

The ANC's goal "is not about being against the people of Israel. We're against the system, Zionism, the capture of sovereign states, and against genocide," she stated.

Years ago, the women and children of Palestine stood with the ANC against Apartheid in South Africa, while they were also "in an occupied environment and also being exploited by the Israeli government," Mokonyane said.

The South African politician noted that there was a time when Africans thought the South African Apartheid government "would never come to the table. And it took international isolation that they realized that they cannot continue like this. Even with Apartheid Israel, the world will have to come to that realization."

Mokonyane said the ANC is calling for an immediate ceasefire and urgent action to aid in the delivery of humanitarian goods.

In the event the court rules to the contrary, it would be "the court's own responsibility" to explain "what would have driven them not to appreciate that this is actually a violation of the genocide convention," she added.

Mokonyane said South Africa should be "guided and advised by the people of Palestine themselves," and the ANC wants to remain "on the side of humanity."

One could hope Pretoria would be correct in speculating the various aspects of a new outcome but Israel is not South Africa, and as hard as it seems, when one has gone through this sort of ordeal and come out the other side with working solutions and a betterment of both government and the people, the likelihood of real and honest reform for Israel is non-existent.