Last week, Trump said he wanted the US to take over the Gaza Strip, send Palestinians elsewhere, and redevelop the land as a “Middle Eastern Riviera.” He announced the plan along with his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A former International Criminal Court judge (ICC) and a special court judge who attempted to genocide in Rwanda, Pillay has condemned Trump’s sanctions against the ICC, which issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu for war crimes.
“International law applies equally if there is no double standard for state friends,” Pillay said.
Groups of almost 80 countries issued a joint statement defending the ICC on Friday, with warning sanctions that could force the court’s field offices to close, potentially undermining its investigation.
Pillay – the first non-white woman to work on the South African High Court bench – told Politico he supports ICC accusations of apartheid against Israel. “Apartheid is one of the manifestations of domination there,” she said of Israel’s occupation of Palestinianism.
Countries around the world have helped defeat South Africa’s apartheid with sanctions on the regime, adding that the government should impose the same on Israel. Apartheid is a crime against humanity under the laws governing the ICC.
“I haven’t seen Karim Khan prosecuting the crime. I was a judge in that court, I am the one who claims a crime that has never been charged before. I understand that it’s a bit complicated…but if apartheid appears, I’ll support it,” Pillay said, adding that her own committee is planning an investigation. Israel regarding apartheid allegations.
Last October, Pillay’s committee accused Israel of crimes and crimes against humanity through targeted destruction of the Gaza health system. The committee is under the UN Human Rights Council, from which Israel retreated on Wednesday on “discrimination” and “anti-Semitism.”
