South Africa has withdrawn all diplomats from Israel. Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said the decision was taken on Monday (November 6) out of concern over “indiscriminate” attacks and “massacres” of civilians in Gaza.
South Africa has long been working for peace in the Middle East and in support of the Palestinians. The country has compared the unspeakable persecution of Palestinians to the plight of the apartheid regime that ended in 1994.
Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, an official in the country’s presidential office, said, ‘All diplomats assigned to Tel Aviv have been asked to return to Pretoria for consultation. Meanwhile, South Africa’s foreign minister claimed that the withdrawal of diplomats was normal. Although there is no South African ambassador in Israel.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called on countries around the world not to supply arms to both sides in the conflict while attending the peace conference held in Cairo last month. At the same time, the country’s foreign ministry asked the United Nations to deploy troops to protect civilians in Gaza.
Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. In response, since that day, Israel has been blocking Gaza and carrying out indiscriminate bombings. The conflict has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians in Gaza so far, most of them children and women.
