South Africa: Citizens Who Fight for Israel in Gaza Will Be Arrested

South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said on Sunday that citizens who fight on Israel’s behalf in the Gaza war will be arrested when they return home to South Africa.

“I have already issued a statement alerting those who are South African and who are fighting alongside or in the Israeli Defense Forces. We are ready. When you come home, we’re going to arrest you,” Pandor said at a “Palestinian solidarity” conference in Pretoria, which the ruling African National Congress (ANC) Party hosted.

Pandor encouraged ANC loyalists to make posters reading “Stop Genocide” and demonstrate outside the embassies of Israel’s “five primary supporters.” She did not name these countries, but the group would almost certainly include the United States and the United Kingdom.

“Don’t only come to this dinner. Be visible in the support of the people of Palestine,” she told the conference attendees.

Pandor’s comments followed up on a warning from the Foreign Ministry in December that people with dual South African-Israeli citizenship could be prosecuted and stripped of South African citizenship if they join the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) without approval from the government.

The Foreign Ministry expressed “grave concern” in December over reports that “some South African citizens and permanent residents have joined or are considering joining the IDF in the war in Gaza and in the other Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

This was evidently a reference to Israel’s Security Service Law, which stipulates that all citizens must enlist for military service, even dual nationals who do not reside in Israel.

The IDF activated its reserves following the Hamas atrocities of October 7, 2023, and asked reservists living overseas to report for duty. Many of them responded to the call, leaving jobs, homes, and families in other countries and rushing to Israel’s defense. The reservists created social media groups to help each other find flights to Israel and handle other logistical matters.

The South African government has gone all-in to thwart the IDF’s campaign against the brutal Hamas terrorists in Gaza. South Africa accused Israel of committing “genocide” against the Palestinians at the International Court of Justice in February.

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South Africa’s delegation to the United Nations frequently accuses Israel of practicing “apartheid” against the Palestinians, a reference to the system of legalized racial discrimination that held sway in South Africa until the early 1990s.