Lodgment of dossier ‘Israels’ genocide of Palestinians and violations by South African Nationals and citizens rendering foreign military assistance to the IDF
17 July 2024
In February 2022, the South African Zionist Terrorism Corridor Probe was lodged for crimes perpetrated in a foreign territory with South African law enforcement and prosecutorial Authorities.
The Terrorism Probe requested investigation into accused persons having unlawfully served in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) or occupation forces (IOF) in 2014 in Gaza, and South African persons and institutions support for enduring colonisation, belligerent occupation and apartheid practices which are unlawful under international law including violations of South Africa’s Implementation of the Rome Statute , codifying universal jurisdiction for holding accountable accused suspects for the most egregious and heinous crimes perpetrated against Palestinians.
The Complainants invoked the provisions of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities and the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance.
This probe was now extended following Israel’s aggression in Gaza after 7 October 2023, and supplemented with a comprehensive criminal complaint against Israeli Prime Minister - Benjamin Netanyahu, President of Israel – Isaac Herzog, Minister of Defence - Yoav Gallant, Minister of National Security - Itamar Ben Gvir, Chief of the General Staff of the IDF - Herzi Halevi, Incumbent Generals and Commanders of the IDF and other members of the ultra-right ethnocratic coalition and the IDF carrying out the Israeli government’s belligerent polices perpetrating with impunity the crime of genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank and in occupied Palestinian territories.
The situation in Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe. Palestinian Health Authorities report Israel's military ground and air aggression in Gaza have killed more than 38,000 people, mostly civilians, and displaced most of the enclave's 2.3 million people from their homes. Thousands more civilians and children in Gaza are now physically maimed, disabled withphysical lifetime impairments and emotionally traumatised by the IDF’s present military aggression.
The recent Criminal Complaint with over 500 pages of evidence was brought by South African nationals, Safoudien Bester and institutions within the Palestinian solidarity movement, being namely the Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Cape Town (PSC-CT) and the Media Review Network (MRN) advocating for the cessation of IDF aggression and the liberation of Palestine from Israel’s decades long unlawful belligerent occupation.
Included in this ground-breaking dossier are the inclusion of number of identifiable South African nationals or citizens who are unlawfully serving in the IOF in violation of the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act.
The comprehensive criminal complaint was lodged on behalf of the Complainants by South African Attorney and International Human Rights Defender and Lawfare Advocate, Ziyaad Ebrahim Patel with the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa on 09 July 2024.
This extensive criminal complaint lodged within the territory of South Africa’s national jurisdiction, includes a request for implementation of UN Security Council resolutions and orders granted by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in South Africa’s invocation of the Genocide Convention against the State of Israel and the urgent interim provisional and humanitarian measures which were granted.
This Complainant’s request for referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is also aligned with South Africa’s State Referral of the egregious crimes being perpetrated by Israeli Knesset and the IDF in the Palestinian territories which was made to the ICC on 17 November 2023.
Issued by Media Review Network, 17 July 2024
