South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, has said that she and her family has been receiving threatening messages from Israeli intelligence following a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Speaking to reporters in Cape Town on Thursday, February 8, Pandor said she had requested National Police Minister, Bheki Cele, about extra security after she received “various messages.”
Pandor expressed her utmost concern for the safety of her family following a social media attack.
“The Israeli agents, intelligence services, this is how they behave, and they seek to intimidate you…we must not be intimidated. There is a cause that is underway,” she said.
“The people of the world and of Palestine didn’t draw back when the apartheid state was at its worst. They stood with the liberation movement so we can’t stand back now. We must be with them and one of the things we must not allow is a failure of courage.”
“We will strive on. As long as the people of Palestine know we as South Africa are with them, we will strive on.”
On December 29, South Africa filed an 84-page lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, requesting an immediate order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
On January 26, ICJ ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza and direct incitement to it, as it rejected the Israeli request to dismiss the lawsuit brought by South Africa.
