By Anait Miridzhanian and Nellie Peyton
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -All states have an obligation to stop funding and facilitating Israel’s military actions in Gaza after the World Court made clear those actions could be genocidal, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said on Wednesday.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide and take steps to improve the humanitarian situation of Palestinians in Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa.
It stopped short of demanding a ceasefire and has not yet ruled on the core of South Africa’s case, whether genocide has occurred in Gaza. That ruling could take years.
South Africa has for decades been an advocate for the Palestinian cause, comparing the plight of Palestinians to that of Black South Africans under apartheid. Israel has denied allegations of genocide and rejects the comparison to the apartheid era.
“The finding (by the ICJ) we think makes it clear that it is plausible that genocide is taking place against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” Pandor told reporters.
“This necessarily imposes an obligation on all states to cease funding and facilitating Israel’s military actions.”
Responding to the ICJ ruling last week, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed it as a step towards justice and said he expected Israel to abide by it.
(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian and Nellie PeytonEditing by Alexander Winning and Barbara Lewis)
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