Palestinians react at a hospital where casualties of Israeli bombardment on al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip were transported on April 8, 2024, as the war between Israel and the Hamas movement continues. Picture: AFP
The South African government welcomed a resolution addressing the Human Rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
In a statement, the adoption of the resolution was described as historic.
The motion emphasises the importance of holding all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law accountable, as well as providing an effective remedy for all victims and taking practical steps to prevent future violations and international crimes.
During the discussion of the resolution, ambassador Mxolisi Nkosi said, “The international community can no longer choose to apply a parallel system of international law to Israel, nor can we be complicit in facilitating its actions. For international law to be credible, it must be uniformly applied and serve the victims that it is designed to protect.”
This is the first time that the Human Rights Council has taken action on the extraordinary human catastrophe in Gaza, where at least 32,975 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 14,500 children, since Israel began its offensive.
“As part of this process, the resolution recognises the importance of the order issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that indicated provisional measures in the case lodged by South Africa against Israel on the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” said the government.
“South Africa believes that it is only through ensuring accountability and justice that the impunity accorded to Israel that has entrenched the ongoing unlawful occupation can finally be brought to an end.”
However, this resolution has not stopped the war.
While Israel recently withdrew almost all its troops in the strip, the war is far from over as it is set to attack the city of Rafah.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has supposedly set the date for the invasion.
“Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo. We are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas,” said Netanyahu on Monday.
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