Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently announced military action in Rafah, south of Gaza. [Picture: Al Jazeera]
The Apartheid Israeli government appears ready to stop at nothing to eliminate the Hamas boogeyman. It looks like not even the United States or United Kingdom can reign in their hound, as Benjamin Netanyahu’s occupation forces ready to launch a ground offensive in Rafah.
On Tuesday, South Africa joined a chorus of opposition to the military plan announced last week. The country looked to the World Court for an intervention to prevent the further breach of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza.
“It is gravely concerning that the unprecedented military offensive against Rafah, as announced by the state of Israel, has already led to and will result in further large-scale killing, harm and destruction. This would be in serious [breach of] both of the genocide convention and of the court’s order of 26 January this year,” said spokesperson in the Presidency Vincent Magwenya.
Israel’s terror activities, pursued with the goal of eliminating the very entity it helped to create, have racked up a death toll of no fewer than 28 473 Palestinians in both the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. At least 68 146 others have been injured since 7 October.
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Pressure to avoid Rafah
SA’s latest request for intervention by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) came on the back of a previous case against Israel for genocide in Gaza. The government reiterated the order, handed down on 26 January, was being ignored by the occupiers.
It also came at a time when influential voices globally condemned Israel’s murderous acts in the besieged enclave. In its latest statement, the Church of England lambasted Israel for conducting its military activities in a manner that “cannot be morally justified”.
It emphasised the urgency of a ceasefire: “With the onset of Israel’s ground offensive into Rafah, we call for an immediate ceasefire. The relentless bombardment of Gaza and its huge cost in civilian lives and civilian infrastructure must stop”.
On Tuesday, the United Kingdom’s (UK) foreign secretary suggested his country would not back a full-scale offensive in the city that is home to more than one million refugees. David Cameron said the right-wing government in Tel-Aviv should “stop and think”.
“The people who are in Rafah on many occasions have already moved three, four or five times. And it’s not possible to move again, they can’t go north because they’d be going back to homes that have been destroyed. They can’t go south, because that would involve going into Egypt, which none of us want to see and the Egyptians do not want to see,” he said.
SA had in December approached the ICJ to have Israel halt its genocide in Gaza. Despite a subsequent instruction in favour, Israel persisted in its bombing frenzy. Food, water, electricity and other essentials are dwindling as the people of Palestine endure prolonged occupation and attack.
