Johnathan Paoli
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has officially implemented the political removal of the Israeli ambassador to South Africa, Eliav Belotserkovsky.
Director-General Zane Dangor said the ambassador was also informed about the withdrawal of South African diplomats stationed in Tel Aviv to assess the government’s relationship with Israel amid the rising civilian casualties in Gaza.
Dangor said that on Friday, the department called in Belotserkovsky for questioning, and expressed its concern for the deaths of over 10,000 Palestinian civilians, including 4,300 children, as a result of Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks in Gaza.
The DG said that Belotserkovsky was further reminded to conduct himself in line with the Vienna Conventions that accords heads of diplomatic missions certain privileges but also for him to recognise the decisions of a sovereign nation, and to convey the SA government’s concerns to Tel Aviv.
Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, had earlier been peeved by the inappropriate remarks from the Israeli ambassador and she had made her feelings known when speaking in Parliament.
“There seems to be a strange practice among some ambassadors in South Africa that they can just say what they like and our ambassadors conduct themselves with good grace because that’s the directive from us,” Pandor said.
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