SA govt has no ties to Hamas, or been in recent contact with it over Israel relations - Pandor
This comes in response to a set of parliamentary questions posed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) following the 7 October attacks in which over 1,000 Israelis were killed, and which has sparked the Israeli military's relentless retaliatory raids on Gaza.
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor. Picture: @DIRCO_ZA/X
CAPE TOWN - Government insists it has no ties to Palestinian militant group Hamas, neither has it been in any contact with it over relations with Israel.
This comes in response to a set of parliamentary questions posed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) following the 7 October attacks in which over 1,000 Israelis were killed, and which has sparked the Israeli military's relentless retaliatory raids on Gaza, as it seeks to flush out its fighters.
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, said neither she nor President Cyril Ramaphosa has made had any form of contact with a Hamas leader in recent years.
DA MP Michael Bond has been probing government's relations with Hamas by asking whether the president or any Cabinet member has either called or met with a Hamas leader in either 2022, 2023 or so far, this year.
But in reply, International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor stands by her October statement that she took a call from Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, to discuss humanitarian assistance to Palestine.
She said that during that call she reiterated South Africa’s support for Palestinians and the regret for the loss of both Palestinian and Israeli lives.
In response to a second question from the DA, Pandor said that neither the president nor any member of Cabinet had met with a Hamas leader to discuss any strategy to assist Hamas or another country, to wage a diplomatic or legal offensive against Israel.
To a third question on the matter, Pandor said that government had similarly not met with the governments of Iran or Qatar to assist in waging an offensive against Israel.
Earlier this month, the Presidency announced it would be hosting Iran on a state visit that was scheduled for 27 February, but mere hours later said the visit had been called off.
Since South Africa declared a genocide dispute against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICC) in December, Israel has consistently accused government of being an ally to Hamas, and of shielding the group from accountability for attacks on Israelis.