South Africa to Close Israeli Embassy
Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed
The South African parliament on Tuesday voted in favour of a motion to shut down the Israeli embassy in Pretoria and suspend all diplomatic relations with Israel until it agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza.
A total of 248 members of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, voted in favour of the non-binding motion, while 91 lawmakers opposed it.
The parliament said the measures will be in place until Israel agrees to a ceasefire and participates in UN-facilitated negotiations.
Also on Tuesday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired a BRICS extraordinary virtual summit on the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
South Africa announced last week that it had referred Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes investigation. Its cabinet also called on the ICC to issue arrest warrants for all those involved, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Earlier this month, South Africa recalled all of its diplomats from its embassy in Israel.
