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In support of Palestine, the IPPSRA has broad legal implications for the government, state organs, private individuals, companies, civil society, academic institutions, religious associations, the sporting community, arms manufacturers, and financial institutions. It specifically calls for the termination of all diplomatic relations between Israel and South Africa, economic boycotts, monitoring of South African or Israeli nationals serving in the Israeli Defence Force, and the implication of individuals and Zionist institutions that support the apartheid state, among other measures.
By SOZARN BARDAY
SINCE October 7 2023, Israel has intensified its military operations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, resulting in significant casualties and displacements. To date, 37,953 people have been killed, 87,141 wounded, and 1,900,000 displaced in the Gaza Strip alone.
Simultaneously, the Israeli Defence Force has detained thousands of Palestinians following Hamas’ attack on Israel, including 8,875 individuals from the West Bank. Among those detained are over 640 children, held under administrative detention without charges or fair trials. Omar Shakir, the Israel-Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, has stated, ‘Israel’s sweeping use of administrative detention is not lawful.’ Detainees face severe mistreatment, including beatings, attacks by dogs, and denial of basic needs like water, electricity, and healthcare, often resulting in deaths due to neglect.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared in July 2024, ‘For every country that unilaterally recognises a Palestinian state, we will establish a settlement.’ Smotrich is an illegal settler in the West Bank himself and has now legalised five new settlements in response to Ireland, Spain, Norway, Armenia, and Slovenia recognising Palestine. He claims these actions are crucial for Israel’s sovereignty and has called for military governance over Gaza strip, after the Israeli Defence Force announced the end of the ‘violent fighting,’ in order to prevent Hamas’ return and control humanitarian aid distribution.
The situation in Palestine has severely degraded, calling for international intervention to protect Palestinian lives. However, international institutions have been ineffective due to politicization and structural issues. Advocacy for peace and security must be reinforced through a multilateral framework, grounded in international law. South Africa must lead by developing national jurisdictions to support international solidarity. The South African Implementation and Protection of Palestinian Solidarity Rights Act Bill (IPPSRA) aims to achieve this.
The IPSRA initiated in 2017 and drafted by international human rights attorney and lawfare advocate, Ziyaad Ebrahim Patel, supported by activists within the Palestinian solidarity movement, has wide-ranging legal implications. It affects the government, state organs, private individuals, companies, civil society, academic institutions, religious associations, the sporting community, arms manufacturers, and financial institutions. It specifically calls for the termination of all diplomatic relations between Israel and South Africa, economic boycotts, monitoring of South African or Israeli nationals serving in the Israeli Defence Force, and the implication of individuals and Zionist institutions that support the apartheid state, among other measures.
Enacting the IPPSRA would demonstrate lawful support for Palestinian human rights, setting a precedent for both local and international solidarity movements, allowing its content to be adapted to domestic and constitutional legal frameworks and supplementing common law.
Currently, Israel’s government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, is an ultra-right nationalist regime. The party has intensified its campaign by aiding, arming, and abetting settler colonial projects aimed at dispossessing and destroying Palestinian property in occupied territories such as Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, Jenin, and Silwan.
Colonial regimes often resort to genocides when resistance challenges the occupier. Scholars and prominent human rights activists argue that the killing and expulsion of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem violate numerous international human rights laws and the Genocide Convention. The current settler colonial policies, the implementation of apartheid, and the decades of conflict in the Gaza Strip makes the implementation of IPPSRA urgent.
Human rights groups have continuously highlighted the ongoing mistreatment of prisoners by Israeli prison services, including torture and inhumane practices. Several UN resolutions have called for Israel to respect prisoners’ rights.
Despite the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting the displacement of local populations by occupying powers, Israel continues building illegal settlements on stolen land, with settlers harassing Palestinians and forcing them from their homes or farms that have been in their lineage for centuries.
A legal framework supporting international solidarity is crucial. The IPPSRA addresses these challenges, advocating for support from various societal sectors.
On October 27, 2023, IPPSRA was proposed to Dr Naledi Pandor, the former Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). DIRCO acknowledged receipt on November 30, 2023, and expressed that the Palestinian plight is important to both the government and South Africans. The department also emphasised its efforts to curb Israel’s impunity for ongoing crimes and human rights violations in Palestine.
Currently, DIRCO, in collaboration with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, is studying the IPPSRA to determine how its provisions would bolster the country’s ongoing efforts to secure the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, peace, and justice. Discussions are also underway to consider the bill.
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Dr Pandor has consistently supported Gaza and advocated for taking Israel to the International Criminal Court of Justice for genocidal acts against Palestinians. While her actions were globally welcomed, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies vocally called for her resignation or immediate dismissal. It is notable that ahead of the 2024 South African elections, Dr Pandor excused herself from Cabinet activities. Whether this decision was duress or voluntarily remains unclear. Given South Africa’s new government of national unity (GNU), it remains to be seen how the new DIRCO Minister, Ronald Lamola, will handle the IPPSRA Bill. Lamola will now be expected to represent various parties in GNU – obligating him to be transparent, ideological and accountable in comparison to Pandor. While many believe that the ANC may lose its dominance in foreign policy sphere, it should be noted that Lamola participated in the ICJ case, worked with both United Nations and BRICS on peace, security, and justice matters, and attempted to extradite the Gupta brothers on state capture charges. It is clear that his good rapport and experience stand him in good stead to tackle the colonial state of Israel with his own ‘flavour’.
Given the ongoing genocide, it is crucial to apply local and international pressure on Israel to end its apartheid and genocidal policies, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Gaza has been under siege since 2006 as collective punishment for Hamas taking control over the settler colonial occupier, Israel.
Unfortunately, diplomacy has failed countless of times due to the lack of bona fides of Western countries that back Israel, European Nations, United States, and Israel themselves. A political solution recognising Palestine as a state with East Jerusalem as its capital is necessary.
It is crucial for South Africa to align itself with justice in the Palestine issue, especially considering our own historical struggles. International leaders often exhibit double standards and provide support to the colonial state of Israel. Therefore, it is imperative for Ronald Lamola to follow his predecessor’s lead and endorse the IPPSRA Bill. This bill will address the increasing number of settlers and instances of administrative detention and help end the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Enacting the bill will legally constrain Israel, preventing complicity in its apartheid policies against Palestinians. Failure to do so will tarnish our country’s reputation and mobilise South Africans against the Government of National Unity.
Sozarn Barday is an attorney based in Cape Town and has a particular interest in human rights in the Middle East.
