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Activists urge South Africa to end exports to Israel

Sunday, 25 August 2024 10:04 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 25 August 2024 10:04 AM ]

Members of General Industrial Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA), civil associations and political parties hold anti-Israel banners during a pro-Palestine demonstration in front of the Israeli Trade and Economic Office in Sandton, Johannesburg, on January 27, 2022. (AFP)

Protesters say South Africa's attempt to hold Israel accountable at the International Court of Justice is not enough, demanding that the government sever all trade ties with Israel and impose sanctions against the regime.

South African coal is responsible for powering 15% of Israel's power grid, and this needs to stop immediately.

Activists urge South Africa to end exports to Israel

Activists urge South Africa to end exports to Israel

South African activists have urged the government to impose a ban on exports to Israel, accusing the government of double standards.

South Africa is the largest trade partner with Israel in Africa, and over the past eight months, it has shipped over 500,000 tons of coal to the brutal regime, placing it among the top three suppliers globally.

By exporting coal to Israel, we are effectively aiding and abetting that genocide. But we are also taking it a step further, and it's not as limited to coal.

We believe very firmly, and that has also been the case in our Apartheid South African history, that any economic or any other relations that you have with the State of Israel is aiding and abetting and propping up a genocidal state, a pariah state, an apartheid state.

Abeeda Adams, Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Freedom Days: Congo

Freedom Days: Congo

Rich in natural resources, Congo has long been coveted by the West. In 1960, the US orchestrated a coup that led to the fall of Patrice Lumumba, who wanted to end Western exploitation.

A stark reminder of the vicious consequences of the misuse of vital resources is the Congo where uranium exploited from Congolese mines was used in the American nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Almost 80 years later, Congolese activists say Africa must exert its right over these resources.

The experience of Congo must make everybody see what the next move of the leading force of corporates [sic] which are trying to push the killing machine, to become a massive killing machine.

Isaiha Mombilo, Congolese Civil Society of South Africa

More countries join S. Africa’s ICJ genocide case

Israel’s pariah status grows as more countries join S. Africa’s ICJ genocide case

As more countries join South Africa’s ICJ lawsuit against Israel over ongoing genocide in Gaza, the regime’s international isolation and pariah status is growing.

In its assessment of South Africa's genocide case against Israel, the International Court of Justice insists that all states should halt any aid or assistance to Israel which assists it in maintaining its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Campaigners believe that by continuing to supply resources such as coal to the regime, South Africa, therefore, is falling foul of the very remedy it sought from the international body.