South African Parliament votes unanimously to sever diplomatic relations with the Israeli occupation entity

The South African Parliament voted in favor of closing the Israeli embassy in the country and severing diplomatic relations with the Israeli occupation entity in response to the Israeli aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The local Channel Africa  reported that “the South African parliament voted unanimously to close the Israeli embassy and sever diplomatic relations with it.”

The vote comes after a statement made by South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa at the extraordinary meeting of the BRICS summit, reported by the Russian TASS agency, in which he condemned the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and described it as “genocide and war crimes.”

“The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel constitutes a war crime,” Ramaphosa said in the statement, stressing that the deliberate deprivation of medicine, fuel, food and water to the people of Gaza is a  genocide.

Ramaphosa called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the opening of humanitarian crossings to the Gaza Strip, so that all those in need can receive humanitarian aid and basic services, and the deployment of UN forces in Palestine to monitor and observe the ceasefire  and protect civilians.

President Ramaphosa had previously confirmed that his country had submitted a complaint to the International Criminal Court in order to investigate war crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Rawaa Ghanam