Minister Khmbudzo Ntshavheni at a press briefing in November 2023. In a later response in Parliament, she said South Africans joining the IDF would be brought to book. [Picture: GCIS]
South African citizens who have joined the Israel Defence Force (IDF) or any military group in any part of the world will be brought to book, in cases where sufficient information is available. The minister’s injunction comes while the IDF presses on with genocide in Gaza, Palestine.
The Foreign Military Assistance Act prohibits citizens from participating in military operations for a foreign outfit. Several South Africans, however, have in recent years been exposed for serving in the IDF, the army of a terrorist, apartheid regime.
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Warning against joining IDF
Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, on Wednesday cautioned South Africans against getting involved by joining the IDF. She was answering a question in Parliament.
She said it was the state’s duty to ensure this did not happen and that the State Security Agency (SSA) was monitoring the developments in Gaza.
“The specific problem of South Africans joining the ranks of the Israeli Defence Force is receiving attention. However, this problem goes beyond Israel. It encompasses other conflicts where state and non-state players are involved in training in armed conflict,” she said.
She said the Department of Defence (DoD) and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will be informed of South Africans joining the IDF. “Where sufficient evidence is available that breaches of relevant law occurred, affected people will have to be prosecuted,” she said.
Meanwhile, bloodthirsty Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu appeared unfazed about the mounting death toll in Gaza as he again shot down the idea of a ceasefire until hostages were released. No fewer than 10 569 Palestinians – each with their own life stories to tell – have been killed in just over a month.
