Certain US lawmakers have adopted a "very negative" stance towards South Africa following its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told media.
"In terms of responses, unfortunately, there are some legislators in the United States of America that have taken a very negative position against my country," the minister was quoted as saying by the outlet.
Such position presents a threat to investment and job opportunities in South Africa, she reportedly said on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.
"So, we have to continue to lobby the American people to say, 'to act against South Africa when they were pursuing a very moral and correct issue in the global space, would be entirely wrong,'" she added, as cited by Turkish media.
In late 2023, South Africa brought a case against Israel to the ICJ, alleging that Israel had not upheld its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention. The ICJ issued an interim ruling on January 26, stating that South Africa's accusations had merit. Provisional measures requiring the Israeli government to prevent acts of genocide and facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip were mandated.
According to the media, the top diplomat also stated that South Africa is an independent and sovereign nation with the right to defend its stance. She emphasized that this support for the Palestinians has always been consistent and that South Africa will continue to stand by them.
In response to the question of whether Israel has implemented the provisional measures of the ICJ, Pandor noted "no, they haven't applied," adding that actually Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has rejected."
"But this is not surprising. We had the same with apartheid. When there were international rulings by the UN bodies, the apartheid state would say no. So, you're seeing very similar conduct and approach between the apartheid state and the Israeli government.," she went on to say.
In 1948-1990s, certain parts of South Africa suffered from apartheid, an institutionalized system of racial segregation.