South Africa BDS coalition calls for boycott of Israel
The South African chapter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is calling on the country to implement a boycott of Israel and to prosecute South Africans that have served in Israel's military forces.
The statement comes after the Israeli military launched its latest raid on the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank during the early hours of Monday.
"Our government claims to uphold the tenets of international law so we await decisive action from South Africa in the UN, calling for the reinstatement of the anti-apartheid mechanisms towards international sanctions and an arms embargo against apartheid Israel," said Roshan Dadoo, coordinator of the South Africa BDS Coalition.
"We further demand that our government declare the apartheid Israeli ambassador in Pretoria persona non grata and break off diplomatic and all other relations," she said.
The coalition said in a statement that South Africa "has a moral and ethical duty to act against the impunity of the apartheid settler-colonial Israeli state and support the Palestinian people resisting [the] illegal occupation and the war crimes being committed against them".
South Africa has a law stipulating that its citizens are not allowed to "engage in mercenary activity" or provide "foreign military assistance to any state" unless special authorisation is granted. Anyone who violates this law is subject to jail time.
There have been several cases brought by Palestinians to the National Prosecuting Authority against South Africans serving in the Israeli military.