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South African Parliament Votes to Close Down Israeli Embassy in Pretoria
A pro-Hamas demonstration outside the Israeli consulate in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Reuters/Nic Bothma
South Africa’s parliament on Tuesday voted decisively in favor of the closure of the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria, one day after the Jewish state recalled its own envoy back to Jerusalem for consultations amid growing hostility from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and left-wing parties over the ongoing war in Gaza.
A motion submitted by the far left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was backed by the ANC, passing with 248 votes in favor to 91 against. Members of the centrist Democratic Alliance (DA) largely voted against the motion. After its passage, several members of parliament, many of them bedecked in Palestinian flags and keffiyeh scarves, chanted the slogan “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” — widely interpreted as a call for Israel’s elimination as a sovereign state.
The parliamentary vote coincided with a virtual meeting of the BRICS bloc of states — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — on the conflict in Gaza triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel that was hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Slamming Israel for actions that were “tantamount to genocide,” Ramaphosa declared that the “root cause of this conflict is the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory by Israel.”
“The actions by Israel are in clear violation of international law, including the UN Charter and the Geneva Convention read together with its protocols. Let this meeting stand as a clarion call for us to combine our efforts and strengthen our actions to end this historical injustice,” Ramaphosa told the meeting, which included delegations from new BRICS member states Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. UN Secretary-General António Guterres was also in attendance.
Ramaphosa’s speech followed last week’s decision by South Africa to refer what it called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza to the International Criminal Court for an investigation, with its cabinet calling on the ICC on Monday to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Given that much of the global community is witnessing the commission of these crimes in real time, including statements of genocidal intent by many Israeli leaders, we expect that warrants of arrest for these leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, should be issued shortly,” South African minister in the presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, told reporters.
Earlier this month, South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel and withdrew all its diplomatic staff from the country.
South African Jews meanwhile expressed regret at Israel’s decision to withdraw its Ambassador, Eliav Belotserkovsky, blaming the ANC’s “hostility and discrimination against the world’s only Jewish state” for Jerusalem’s decision.
In a statement, the chair of the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF), Rowan Polovin, condemned the “South African government’s one-sided and irresponsible rhetoric during this period,” which “alongside a refusal to even engage in dialogue with Israel, has had absolutely no impact on establishing peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”
Polovin added that “South Africa’s act is one of self-sabotage that has removed our country from having any meaningful role to play contributing to an end to the current war started by Hamas, or any peace efforts into the future. All it has achieved is deepen the divisions in South Africa, undermine our country’s international standing and economic interests, and harm the constitutional rights of our citizens.”
The post South African Parliament Votes to Close Down Israeli Embassy in Pretoria first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.