This photo released on April 14, 2024, shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden. (GPO/Handout via Xinhua)
The South African parliament issued a statement Wednesday, welcoming the move by Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to request arrest warrants for five people over alleged war crimes, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
CAPE TOWN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The South African parliament issued a statement here on Wednesday, welcoming the move by Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to request arrest warrants for five people over alleged war crimes, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the statement, the five people include Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders, and the warrants against them are for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Khan said on Monday that he will present evidence before three judges of the ICC to prove that the five people have violated the Rome Statutes under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The parliament's statement quoted Supra Mahumapelo, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa's National Assembly, as saying that "this move bolsters South Africa's foreign policy, which strives to maintain world peace and settle all international disputes through negotiation."
In the statement, Mahumapelo stressed that all responsible people must be held accountable for contravening International Humanitarian Law.
South Africa's Ambassador to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela (R) is seen during a hearing of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands, on May 16, 2024. (Photo by Sylvia Lederer/Xinhua)
He noted that South Africa has also approached the International Court of Justice to investigate any possible war crimes being committed by Israel, especially Netanyahu in the "genocidal war" in Gaza.
"Although the chief prosecutor is yet to present his case before the judges of the ICC, this move is a huge blow to the Israeli government and points to the direction South Africa took to the effect that war crimes are being committed against the Palestinian people in this genocidal war," the committee chairperson added. ■