South African Parliament Votes to Close Down Israeli Embassy in Pretoria

South Africa’s parliament on Tuesday voted decisively in favor of the closure of the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria, one day after the Jewish state recalled its own envoy back to Jerusalem for consultations amid growing hostility from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and left-wing parties over the ongoing war in Gaza.

A motion submitted by the far left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was backed by the ANC, passing with 248 votes in favor to 91 against. Members of the centrist Democratic Alliance (DA) largely voted against the motion. After its passage, several members of parliament, many of them bedecked in Palestinian flags and keffiyeh scarves, chanted the slogan “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” — widely interpreted as a call for Israel’s elimination as a sovereign state.

The parliamentary vote coincided with a virtual meeting of the BRICS bloc of states — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — on the conflict in Gaza triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel that was hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Slamming Israel for actions that were “tantamount to genocide,” Ramaphosa declared that the “root cause of this conflict is the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory by Israel.”

“The actions by Israel are in clear violation of international law, including the UN Charter and the Geneva Convention read together with its protocols. Let this meeting stand as a clarion call for us to combine our efforts and strengthen our actions to end this historical injustice,” Ramaphosa told the meeting, which included delegations from new BRICS member states Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. UN Secretary-General António Guterres was also in attendance.

Ramaphosa’s speech followed last week’s decision by South Africa to refer what it called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza to the International Criminal Court for an investigation, with its cabinet calling on the ICC on Monday to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Given that much of the global community is witnessing the commission of these crimes in real time, including statements of genocidal intent by many Israeli leaders, we expect that warrants of arrest for these leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, should be issued shortly,” South African minister in the presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, told reporters.

Earlier this month, South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel and withdrew all its diplomatic staff from the country.

South African Jews meanwhile expressed regret at Israel’s decision to withdraw its Ambassador, Eliav Belotserkovsky, blaming the ANC’s “hostility and discrimination against the world’s only Jewish state” for Jerusalem’s decision.

In a statement, the chair of the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF), Rowan Polovin, condemned the “South African government’s one-sided and irresponsible rhetoric during this period,” which “alongside a refusal to even engage in dialogue with Israel, has had absolutely no impact on establishing peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”

Polovin added that “South Africa’s act is one of self-sabotage that has removed our country from having any meaningful role to play contributing to an end to the current war started by Hamas, or any peace efforts into the future. All it has achieved is deepen the divisions in South Africa, undermine our country’s international standing and economic interests, and harm the constitutional rights of our citizens.”

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