South African(Palestine Foundation Information Center)The South African government has warned its citizens who are fighting for Israel in the besieged Gaza Strip could face prosecution at home, as President Cyril Ramaphosa once again denounced the Israeli aggression as “genocide.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pretoria said it was “gravely concerned” by reports that some South African nationals had joined the Israeli military to fight in Gaza or are considering doing so.
“Such action can potentially contribute to the violation of international law and the commission of further international crimes, thus making them liable for prosecution in South Africa,” the ministry said.
The South African government has warned its citizens who are fighting in the Israeli military against the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip that they may face prosecution and have their citizenship revoked
It did not specify how many South Africans are thought to have enlisted. The government has previously said the State Security Agency (SSA) was tracking them down.
The authorities stressed the ministry is monitoring such citizens.
South Africans need prior government approval to legally fight in Israel, the ministry said.
Naturalized citizens are at further risk of being stripped of their South African nationality for engaging in a war that the country “does not support or agree with,” the foreign ministry added.
“The South African Citizenship Act, 1995 (Act No. 88 of 1995) provides that any person who obtained South African citizenship by naturalization in terms of that Act shall cease to be a South African citizen if he or she engages under the flag of another country in a war that the Republic does not support or agree with,” added the ministry.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, meanwhile, has once again strongly denounced the Israeli aggression on the besieged Palestinian territory, describing it as genocide.
