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Our hands are tied on compatriots in Israel: Dirco

todaySeptember 18, 2024 163

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The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) says it can’t and won’t be able to assist any South Africans who find themselves in trouble or trapped in Israel, in the interim.

This is as tensions between Pretoria and Tel Aviv continue amid the spat over Israel’s retaliatory war against Palestine.

South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel last November and withdrew its entire diplomatic staff from the country – in protest over what Pretoria has termed a genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’ October 7 ambush on Israel.

At least 41 252 people have, so far, been killed and 95 497 others wounded in the onslaught.

As the African proverb observes, “when elephants fight it is the grass that suffers”- the family of a young South African woman, who recently died under suspicious circumstances in prison in Tel Aviv, is currently struggling to bring Lerato Lekganyane’s body back home.

Lekganyane’s family has asked for privacy during this period.

Dirco’s head of public diplomacy, Clayson Monyela, says they have, however, been in touch with them.

Monyela says the closure of the embassy poses a challenge in them assisting the family or any other compatriot who might be in distress while in Israel.

Dirco is urging South Africans who intend moving to Israel to consider the lack of consulate assistance and plan accordingly.

 

Written by: Nokwazi Qumbisa

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