South Africa’s foreign minister Naledi Pandor has said that citizens who are fighting in the Israeli armed forces or alongside them in Gaza will be arrested when they return home.
Naledi, part of South Africa’s governing African National Congress party, passed the policy statement earlier this week at a Palestinian event. “I have already issued a statement alerting those who are South African and are fighting alongside or in the Israeli Defense Forces: We are ready. When you come home, we are going to arrest you,” Pandor said, to rapturous applause from the audience.
The minister asked people to protest outside the embassies of what she called the “five primary supporters” of Israel and its military action in Gaza. She didn’t name them but almost certainly was referring to the United States, the U.K., and Germany among others.
Those with dual South African-Israeli citizenship could be stripped of their South African citizenship, she said further.
Pandor’s comments represent an apparent hardening of the government’s stance.
It’s not clear how many South African citizens have fought for Israel during the current war in Gaza. South Africa has a significant Jewish population of around 70,000 people, as reported by the Associated Press.
The South African government is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian people and a critic of Israel. Back in December, the foreign ministry had said that the South African government was concerned that some of its citizens or permanent residents had joined the IDF to fight in Gaza and warned that they could face prosecution if they hadn’t been granted permission to do so under South Africa’s arms control laws.
Pandor asked audience members at the Palestinian solidary event this week to make posters with the words “Stop Genocide” and protest outside the embassies of what she called the “five primary supporters” of Israel.
“Don’t only come to this dinner. Be visible in the support of the people of Palestine,” she said.
The recent statement by the minister is a proof that the Government may deal with these citizens iron-handedly for going against the state’s policy.
Read more: All you need to know about South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at ICJ
