The resolution, which passed with 24 of the council's 47 members in favour, will spur an unprecedented level of scrutiny on abuses and their 'root causes' in the decades-long Middle East conflict.
Diplomatic efforts are underway to solidify a fragile Egypt-brokered truce that halted the fighting, with plans to rebuild the Gaza Strip where Israeli air strikes damaged infrastructure and levelled buildings.
South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) said that Duarte threatened to storm the embassy, which would be in clear violation of all international diplomatic regulations.
The announcements signalled a clean break with US policy under former president Donald Trump who had shuttered the diplomatic mission for Palestinians in 2019 and slashed aid to the Palestinian Authority.
The African National Congress held a picket outside the Israeli embassy in Pretoria on 25 May 2021 in solidarity with Palestine following the recent escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine. The party’s deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte requested that the embassy pack up and leave South Africa. #ANC #Israel #Palestine
The ANC said that it stood in solidarity with the people of Palestine, demanding an end to the recent violent attacks and to give Palestinian people their land back.
As thousands of Gazans slowly tried to piece back together their lives, top UN staff visited the territory after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire Friday halted 11 days of mutual bombardment, where they warned of the deep psychological trauma of the violence.
The federation’s Bafana Modise said whilst rockets fell on Israeli cities and civilian targets - incitement and hatred against Jews around the globe saw a dramatic rise.
The Egypt-brokered truce halted Israeli airstrikes on the crowded Palestinian territory and rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups at Israel since 10 May.
Palestinians in Gaza trickled out of schools where they had taken shelter, a UN official said, while rescuers said they were working with their meagre resources to remove rubble and rescue any survivors.
Israeli strikes on Gaza, since 10 May, have killed 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, as well as fighters, and have wounded another 1,900, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The Palestinian foreign minister and Israel's ambassador both leveled accusations of 'genocide' during a special United Nations debate Thursday as deadly crossfire between Israeli forces and Palestinian militant groups entered its 11th day.
The Gaza health ministry has put the toll slightly higher, at 230 Palestinians killed, 65 of them children.
While an international diplomatic push aims to end the worst bloodshed in years, Netanyahu issued another tough threat against the armed group that has fired thousands of rockets at Israel since 10 May.
The source added that Israel was evaluating whether its objective of degrading the fighting capacity of Gaza's Hamas rulers had been achieved.
The EU has struggled to find a common position on the fighting. Some of the bloc's 27 members have backed Israel, while others support the Palestinians.
The United States indicated that they "could not currently support an expression" by the Security Council, one diplomat told AFP.
The heaviest fighting since 2014 between Israel and Islamist group Hamas, sparked by unrest in Jerusalem, has claimed 174 lives in the crowded coastal enclave of Gaza and killed 10 people in Israel since Monday.
