As with the war in Ukraine, taking sides on the issue also allows the different parties to highlight their position on the struggle for or against global Western dominance.  The South African government, led by the African National Congress (ANC), characterised the recent events as a “devastating escalation”. However, it primarily attributed the situation to Israeli policies, including “the continued illegal occupation of Palestine land, continued settlement expansion, desecration of the Al Aqsa Mosque and Christian holy sites, and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people”.

SA DIRCO's Statement on 07 October 2023 does not condemn the Hamas attack but intermates that Israel is the cause of the current conflict:  

South Africa expresses its grave concern over the recent devastating escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The new conflagration has arisen from the continued illegal occupation of Palestine land, continued settlement expansion, desecration of the Al Aqsa Mosque and Christian holy sites, and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people. The region is in desperate need of a credible peace process that delivers on the calls of a plethora of previous UN resolutions for a two-state solution and a just and comprehensive peace between Israel and Palestine.

The African National Congress (ANC) calls for peace in the Gaza Strip.  On the accounts of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Israel is a blatant apartheid state that methodically imposes privilege on Jewish Israelis' behalf and discriminates against Palestinians.

It can no longer be disputed that Apartheid South Africa's history is occupied Palestine's reality. As a result, the decision by Palestinians to respond to the brutality of the settler Israeli apartheid regime is unsurprising. The ANC stands with the people of occupied Palestine, as it is clear that the degenerating security situation is directly linked to the unlawful Israeli occupation.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a far-left pan-Africanist party which was formed after a split from the ANC, and is now the third largest party in parliament, endorsed Hamas’ use of violence. Drawing parallels with the anti-apartheid struggle, the party’s spokesperson squarely placed the blame on Israel. And its leader Julius Malema, publicly promised d on 23 October 2023 that should they win the election, the EFF will equip Hamas with weapons. 

South Africa has a Long history of Supporting Hamas

South Africa is not a diplomatic heavyweight and is geographically far from the conflict. But its ruling African National Congress, which Mandela led from an anti-apartheid liberation movement to a political party in government, has retained its pro-Palestinian solid stance even after Mandela died in 2013.

On 11 February 2024, South African President Ramaphosa and Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor were filmed chanting “From the river to the sea”  at a sports event with the Palestinian soccer team in Cape Town.

“From the river to the sea” is a fragment of a slogan used since the 1960s by various people with various purposes. And it is open to an array of interpretations, from the genocidal to the democratic.

The whole saying goes: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a reference to the land between the Jordan River, which borders eastern Israel, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.

Hamas, whose gunmen killed 1,200 people on 7 October, claim the slogan in their rejection of Israel. “Hamas rejects any alternative to the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea,” says the organisation’s 2017 constitution.

Minister Naledi Pandor had a call with Hamas leaders ten days after the October 7 attack. Still, she stressed she did not support killing Israeli citizens:

• After a morning of confusion, International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor confirmed that she had called Hamas.

• The Presidency initially said no such call could have happened.

• Pandor said she assured Hamas of South Africa's humanitarian support but dismissed as malicious any suggestion that she supported the attack on Israel.

• In its readout of the conversation, Hamas said Pandor had offered support for its operation, with the implication that she supported the targeting of Israeli civilians.

Creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel is no longer enough to bring peace and justice to that region, South Africa told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 20 February 2024. South African ambassador Vusi Madonselan told the World Court that:

The Palestinian cause resonates strongly with the people of South Africa. That is because the Palestinian struggle invokes mournful memories of our struggle against apartheid, segregation, and repression.

South Africa Continues its Support of Hamas at the International Court of Justice

The South African government continued its support of the Palestinian cause when the country took the rare step of bringing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice because of its war in Gaza.

Evidence submitted by South Africa claims "acts and omissions”  by Israel “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group".

By limiting its case to the crime of genocide while ignoring the war crimes committed by Hamas and by not initiating proceedings against Hamas, South Africa lost the opportunity to play any impartial role in any negotiations or peace process going forward.

While the court ruling will hopefully reduce unnecessary civilian casualties, a closer examination of the judgment clearly shows that it was much less of a victory than Dirco and Ramaphosa have made out. The primary misstatement he made was that the court ordered provisional measures “to prevent further acts of genocide in Gaza”. This implies that the court found that genocidal acts had been committed and that “further” acts must be halted. The court made no such finding on the case's merits, which will be the subject of subsequent hearings.

In a surprising turnabout, DIRCO Minister Naledi Pandor told parliamentarians that Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, must be investigated for war crimes for its attacks on Israel last October.