Several activists told Middle East Eye that they had intensified their campaign to end what they called South Africa‘s complicity in Israel‘s war on Gaza, where more than 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded and the entire population is facing famine.

Zukiswa Wanner, a writer and activist, said that many South Africans had thought Pretoria‘s decision to take Israel to the International Court of Justice in late 2023 would result in a swift end to the 22-month conflict, but Israel, with full Western backing, continued its war on Gaza.

„Almost two years later, Israel has not relented and we continue seeing the horror visited on the Palestinians,“ Wanner told MEE.

„As individuals, we are all quite powerless on pushing the stop of the genocide – but as citizens – we can demand of our government that they finalise this small thing: South Africa can‘t be having normal relations with an abnormal, genocidal government.