On Dec. 29, 2023, the country of South Africa filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, accusing Israel of committing genocide as a result of the scores of dead Palestinians that have resulted from Israel’s campaign against Hamas.
But South Africa wasn’t done there. Now, South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, has made a new startling announcement that citizens who return to the country who fought in the IDF will be arrested. Ms. Pandor said in a statement: “I have already issued a statement alerting those who are South African and who are fighting alongside or in the Israeli Defense Forces. We are ready. When you come home, we’re going to arrest you.”
This came after a warning earlier in December where South Africa’s foreign ministry stated, in response to its citizens serving in the IDF, “Such action can potentially contribute to the violation of international law and the commission of further international crimes, thus making them liable for prosecution in South Africa.”
Now campaigns supporting the same type of action in France are underway, though the French government is being far more reasonable on the matter, with its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine answering a question regarding it by stating, “This is a somewhat forward-looking question because if I understood your question correctly, they have not yet committed these crimes, so if they do commit these crimes and it is proven, I will answer you when the time comes.” He also stated that “dual citizenship implies dual loyalty, so, we will not investigate what French-Israeli citizens do regarding their military obligations in Israel.”
This is an extremely dangerous precedent that South Africa is setting, using its prosecutorial powers to punish dual citizens who serve in the army of a non-terrorist state. It is particularly troubling when you consider the fact that Israel heavily relies on foreign-born soldiers to serve in their already relatively small, but effective, army.
It would be one thing if a South African pledged their allegiance to ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, or another terrorist group that is internationally recognized as a terrorist outfit that regularly commits heinous acts against innocent people. But it is an entirely different thing to serve in the IDF.
Israel is not a terrorist outfit. They are a peaceful nation that has taken great efforts to ensure that their campaign against Hamas does not affect innocent persons. After all, Israel can hardly be blamed for killing innocent civilians, for example, in a hospital when Hamas intentionally stores their weapons there and when Hamas refuses to allow those innocent persons to leave when Israel warns them of an attack.
South Africa does not understand this, and I can perhaps guess the reason why. Because South Africa, like most developed nations, has not, since its formation, been under constant threat of destruction by neighboring countries.
South Africa lives in relative peace. It hasn’t seen a war in over a century.
Now let’s be clear, it is an absolute tragedy that over 30,000 Palestinians have reportedly lost their lives, many women and children. It is a tragedy that over 70,000 have been injured. But something South Africa has clearly forgotten over the past century that it has lived without war is that, in war, innocent people can perish at the hands of their own government that puts them in harm’s way.
South Africa must cease its dangerous public campaign against Israel, lest it allow a terrorist group at Israel’s borders to flourish and expand past its own borders. South Africa is making itself an unwitting pawn in Hamas’s war against Israel, and it doesn’t seem like South Africa is willing to change course.
