South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor gave a talk about the situation in Rafah and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearings at the Stegman Road Mosque - Masjid Al-Jaamia Stegman in Claremont, a suburb of Cape Town, on May 28, 2024. She said that she wishes that she were shoulder to shoulder with the men and women in Rafah. Pandor stated that the countries and officials that continue to fund and arm "Israel's war machine" will be liable for prosecution in the International Criminal Court. She added that U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson stated that "if the ICC is allowed to threaten Israel's leaders, then we know America will be next," and to this South Africa responds with: "Of course." Pandor continued to say that there is a planned class action suit against foreigners who are serving in the IDF but are not Israeli citizens. Naledi Pandor's talk was streamed live on Ahmed Meshtawy on YouTube.
Minister Naledi Pandor: "I feel that despite all, you are saying, 'I am doing what I am doing from too safe a position.' I would wish I were shoulder to shoulder with the men and women in Rafah. That is where I feel I should be. Say, 'Allah Akbar!'"
Congregants: "Allah Akbar!"
Pandor: "We have been denied that opportunity by the circumstances of our geography, and thus we must do what we can, which I shall speak about today. Many people write to me; I get lots of emails. Sometimes from some of you here. You write to me and say: 'Minister Pandor, you are not radical enough. You are not doing enough, when are you going to lead a Jihad?' I can't! So I say to them, the world has a standing institution whose mandate is to protect people, whose mandate is peace and security, whose mandate is to judge on issues of international law, and it is vital, as people of the south, that we test these institutions.
"Those countries and officials who continue to arm and fund Israel's war machine will be liable for prosecution as well. And civil society organizations will certainly take up such cases, and hold those who have facilitated this genocide accountable by taking them to court. Already there is a planned class action [suit] on all foreigners who have been serving in the IDF. A group of 140 international lawyers are working on this case and are very carefully identifying each of these non-citizens of Israel – including South Africans – who have been fighting in Israel, and a class action [suit] will soon be underway."
Crowd: "Allah Akbar!"
Pandor: "It is very disturbing that the U.S. Speaker of the House of Congress, Mike Johnson, has responded to the ICC prosecutor's decision by saying that America should punish the ICC and put Karim Khan back in his place. This is what I have also received... He said that if the ICC is allowed to threaten Israel's leaders, then we know that America will be next. Our response is: Of course!"