Vantage | Why South Africa backs Palestine, wants Netanyahu arrested

South Africa wants Benjamin Netanyahu to be arrested. They want him charged with war crimes. It is not a surprise, though. South Africa has been firmly pro-Palestine. They have criticised Israel’s war. They have also reached out to Hamas. So calling for Netanyahu’s arrest was just around the corner. Nonetheless, let’s take a closer look. Why does South Africa back Palestine? Can Netanyahu really be arrested or charged? And what is the role of our so-called global courts? Let’s start with the first question. South Africa has a lot in common with Palestine, like colonialism and discrimination, so their leaders have always sided with Palestine, including Nelson Mandela. Plus, Israel is seen as a Western proxy in West Asia. Sort of like America’s right arm. So South Africa has consistently criticised them. Last year, they wanted Israel to be declared an apartheid state. This year, in March, they downgraded relations. South Africa’s embassy in Israel became a liaison office, and now diplomats have been recalled.

“Why recall our embassy officials? This is normal practice when there is a situation which is causing a great deal of harm and concern to a country,” said South Africa minister of foreign affairs, Naledi Pandor. “As you will be aware, extremely concerned at the continued killing of children and innocent civilians in the Palestinian territories and we believe the nature of response by Israel has become one of collective punishment which falls fully outside of the practice of international humanitarian and international human rights law,” said Pandor. It is not surprising. But is an arrest even possible? South Africa wants the ICC to issue a warrant. That’s the International Criminal Court. Now, the court has no jurisdiction over Israel because they never signed the Rome Statute. But over Palestine? The ICC says it does. Palestine got UN Observer status in 2012, using that, they joined the ICC. So the court can rule on issues in Palestine, like the attack on civilians, or drone strikes on hospitals, or collective punishment. Of course, Israel and the US reject this. They will most likely ignore any warrant or ruling. Having said that, this whole episode puts the spotlight on the ICC. What have they done so far? In the case of Ukraine, the ICC was quick to act. They issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. But in Gaza, they’ve done nothing. And it is not just about holding Israel responsible, but about Hamas too. Because the UN says both sides have committed war crimes. “The atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian armed groups on the 7th of October were heinous, they were war crimes as is the continued holding of hostages. The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians is also a war crime as is unlawful, forcible evacuation of civilians,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk. The ICC has reduced itself to a farce. It has limited jurisdiction. It’s not backed by any political will. And it has made questionable decisions: Like after the Iraq War, it was clear that US and British troops committed war crimes. Washington never signed the Rome Statute, so their soldiers were off limits, but Britain had signed it. So the ICC began an investigation. They published a 180-page report. They also found evidence of war crimes. But what did they do? Nothing. The ICC decided not to go ahead. At the end of the day, it’s always political. The US loved it when the ICC issued a warrant for Putin. But would they do the same for Israel? Clearly not. Same for South Africa. They have signed the Rome Statute of the ICC. Yet they promised to not arrest Putin if he travelled to the country. Where is the consistency? You want the ICC to arrest Netanyahu. Yet, your government is ready to violate that same ICC’s order. Also, why not call out Hamas? Like the UN Rights chief said, both sides are guilty. But South Africa doesn’t seem to care. Their foreign minister spoke to the Hamas chief on the phone. That too, days after the October 7 attack. So it’s a case of all-round hypocrisy—picking and choosing whom to prosecute, which war crimes to chase, and which side to call out. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.