Prosecution for South Africans joining Israeli Defence Force
The government warns against losing South African citizenship against naturalised citizens considering joining the Israeli Defence Force.
The South African government has warned that any of its citizens including permanent residents who are flirting with the idea of Israeli Defence Force in its war against Palestine will face prosecution.
South Africa has publicly showed its support for Palestine and has called for an end to the war.
PROSECUTION FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMES
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Last month SA’s ambassador to the Netherlands hand delivered a letter to the office of the prosecutor (OTP) at the International Criminal Court, calling for an investigation against Israel for war crimes.
In a statement issued by the Department of International Relations and CoOperation anyone joining a war could be in violation of international law and break other international crimes.
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In terms of the Regulation of the Foreign Military Assistance Act, 1998 (Act No. 15 of 1998), any person wishing to render foreign military assistance in Israel must first apply to the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) who will make a recommendation to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans that such an application be granted or refused.
“Any person joining the IDF without the necessary permission of the NCACC is breaking the law and can be prosecuted”, the department says.
LOSING SOUTH AFRICAN CITIZENSHIP
The department has also warned that individuals joining the war could lose the citizenship in accordance to the South African Citizenship Act, 1995 (Act No. 88 of 1995).
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The acts states that any person who obtained South African citizenship by naturalisation in terms of that Act shall cease to be a South African citizen if he or she engages under the flag of another country in a war that the Republic does not support or agree with.
“It is in this context, that South African citizens should be made aware of the consequences of joining the IDF or any foreign armed forces involved in conflicts with a view to preventing inadvertent complicity in international crimes or violations of domestic law” the department states.