South African Cabinet expects that the ICC will issue a warrant of arrest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his senior officials in December, said Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.
"We expect now that other State parties have also added their voices for an end to the impunity by Israel and the significant levels of evidence available that international warrants of arrest will be issued by the time the conference of parties meets in mid-December in New York," said Ntshavheni as cited by media.
The minister said the world has seen the crimes committed by the Israeli leader and that she expects there will be consequences.
"Given that much of the global community is witnessing the commission of these crimes in real time, including statements of genocidal intent by many Israeli leaders, we expect that warrants of arrest for these leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, should be issued shortly," she stated.
According to her, If the ICC fails to take action, it would serve as evidence of the global absence of justice.
"Failure to do so will be indicative of a lack of will to act by the ICC and the strong signal to the total failure of the global system of good governance and justice and the need to establish a new system," Ntshavheni added.
The statement comes as the South African parliament is expected to vote Tuesday on a motion to close the Israeli embassy in Pretoria.
On October 7, Palestinian Hamas movement launched a surprise massive rocket attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, breaching the border and kidnapping residents of neighboring Israeli communities. Israel retaliated by launching a widescale military operation and imposing a complete blockade on Gaza, cutting off water, food, and fuel supplies.