South Africa's ruling party said on Thursday it will support a parliamentary motion to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel until it agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza, AFP reported.
The African National Congress (ANC) said it also backs calls to close the Israeli embassy in Pretoria in protest over the war.
"We cannot sit back and watch the genocidal actions of the Israeli regime," said ANC spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, according to AFP.
"The African National Congress will agree to a parliamentary motion which calls upon the government to close the Israel embassy in South Africa and suspend all diplomatic relations with Israel," she added.
Anti-Israel sentiments remain prevalent in South Africa, where the government has frequently accused Israel of applying a policy of “apartheid” towards Palestinian Arabs.
The South African government announced earlier this month it was recalling its ambassador and entire diplomatic mission from Israel in protest against Israel's attempts to defend itself from the Hamas terrorist organization following the October 7 massacre.
Later, South Africa called in Israel's ambassador for a formal reprimand, citing “public comments” he had made.
In 2019, the country announced plans to downgrade its embassy in Tel Aviv.
The later parliamentary motion was put forward by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a radical leftist opposition party. It is not binding and will need government approval to be implemented.