South Africa's foreign minister has been criticized for holding a phone call with the leader of Hamas just 10 days after the Palestinian militant group launched a deadly attack on Israel. While the South African government has long expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people, a South African Jewish organization says the phone call indicates the minister “supports” Hamas.
Naledi Pandor, formally South Africa's minister of international relations and cooperation, said in a statement that she held a call with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at his request to “discuss getting humanitarian aid into Palestine.”
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation, or DIRCO, said that contrary to false reports, the minister did not express support for Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 that saw 1,400 people killed and almost 200 Israelis taken hostage.
Rather, in keeping with her government’s position, the department said she “reiterated South Africa’s solidarity and support” for the Palestinian people and “expressed sadness and regret for the loss of innocent lives on both sides.”
But Karen Milner, the chairperson of South Africa’s Jewish Board of Deputies, said the call showed the minister had taken a side.
“The South African Jewish Board of deputies and the South African Jewish community is horrified at the fact that Naledi Pandor, the minister of foreign affairs for South Africa, had a call with Hamas soon after the atrocious and horrific attack by Hamas on Israel,” said Milner.
She said Pandor’s actions suggested Pandor “supports” Hamas.
“The minister of foreign affairs calling a Hamas leader at the same time as every other country in the free world has condemned the Hamas attacks shows that Minister Pandor has taken a side and has dragged South Africa into a very, very dangerous situation as she supports Hamas militants,” Milner said.
Earlier this week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa issued his condolences to the people of Israel but also pledged solidarity with the Palestinians, saying they were waging a “just struggle.” He said South Africa supports a two-state solution and has offered his country’s help with mediation.
South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, has often drawn what it says are parallels between Black South Africans’ struggle against the racist white apartheid regime and the situation in the Middle East. Pandor has previously called for Israel to be designated “an apartheid state.”
Bob Wekesa, a senior lecturer at the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, said while usually the government deals with the Palestinian Authority, it was clear the government had also taken a position “in support of Hamas.”
“I think on the diplomatic front, it is strange that DIRCO would take a call from Hamas, given that it’s not a formal organization,” he said, referring to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation. “In any case, it has been declared — or labeled, or classified — as a terrorist group.”
Since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war and ordered civilians to move to the south of Gaza, more than 3,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.
On Tuesday, almost 500 people were killed in a blast at a hospital, with each side accusing the other of responsibility for the explosion.
The Israel Defense Force says militants in Gaza misfired a rocket intended for Israel that hit the hospital. U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday it “appeared” Israel was not behind the blast.
Meanwhile, Pretoria issued a statement siding with authorities in Gaza who said the hospital was hit by an Israeli airstrike.
South Africa has a considerable Muslim population and a sizable Jewish population.
Since the war broke out 10 days ago, there have been pro-Palestinian protests in the country. The ANC has also organized a Palestinian Solidarity March outside the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria on Friday.
