South Africa refuses to be bowed. That was one of the key messages of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state-of-the-nation address on Thursday.
His statement, reiterated over X, was apparently aimed at his US counterpart, Donald Trump – who has just signed off on sanctions against the International Criminal Court for ‘targeting America and its close ally Israel.’ (Last year, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.)
In his address and tweet, Ramaphosa defended South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice – invoking the global solidarity enjoyed by oppressed South Africans during their fight against the apartheid regime.
Tel Aviv has instructed its diplomats to lobby members of the US Congress to pressure South Africa into dropping its ICJ case against Israel, warning Pretoria it will ‘pay a heavy price.’
Going by president Ramaphosa’s remarks, South Africa remains unshaken.
Sources
Rubio-Trump vs South Africa
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/trump-cut-off-all-future-funding-south-africa-2025-02-02/
US sanctions ICC
Trump imposes sanctions on ICC, accusing it of targeting US and Israel | Trump administration | The Guardian
Israeli lobby against South Africa
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-lobbying-us-congress-south-africa-icj-genocide