South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday convened a BRICS Extraordinary Joint Meeting to discuss the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
Various leaders and ministers in the BRICS bloc attended the meeting virtually.
After over an hour of connectivity issues, all leaders and representatives of the BRICS nations agreed the violence in Gaza was of grave global concern.
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Ramaphosa did not mince his words and accused Israel of genocide and war crimes.
“The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime. The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide”.
“The actions by Israel are in clear violation of international law, including the UN Charter and the Geneva Convention read together with its protocols. In its attacks on civilians and by taking hostages, Hamas has also violated international law and must be held accountable for these actions,” Ramaphosa added.
He made six demands aimed at ending the violence, these include:
- An immediate ceasefire on both sides
- The opening of humanitarian corridors
- Countries to desist from fueling the conflict
- Immediate release of all hostages
- Resumption of dialogue by the UN
- The International Criminal Court must pursue criminal charges
“The root cause of this conflict is the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory by Israel as reflected in UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which states that “Israeli settlements constitutes a flagrant violation under international law,” said Ramaphosa.
BRICS member states echoed some of these calls, including calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region.
Since the 7th of October, when more than 1,200 people were killed in an attack by Hamas on Israel. Ramaphosa said the world had bore witness to the devastating killing of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza, many of whom are women and children.
Since then, over 11,000 residents of Gaza have been killed and thousands more have been wounded. Infrastructure, homes, hospitals and other public facilities have been destroyed and more than half of Gaza’s population has been displaced.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s members of Parliament are voting to remove the Israeli Embassy from the country.
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