South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor affirmed US House Speaker Mike Johnson’s prediction that the United States would be next if the International Criminal Court (ICC) is allowed to prosecute Israeli leadership, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported on Friday.
Pandor’s comments were addressed to an audience at a mosque in Cape Town, South Africa, MEMRI noted.
South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor in a Cape Town Mosque: America is next - Countries and Officials That Fund Israel’s War Machine Will Be Liable for ICC Prosecution; Class Actions Planned for Foreign Citizens Serving in the IDF; I… pic.twitter.com/4gf3gYIdgi
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) May 30, 2024
In the MEMRI video, the South African minister donned a black and white checkered keffiyeh and stood in front of a Palestinian flag.
“[Speaker Johnson] said that if the ICC is allowed to threaten Israel's leaders, then we know that America will be next. Our response is: Of course!" Pandor exclaimed in the video clip.
During a news conference last month, Johnson told reporters that “if the ICC is allowed to threaten Israel’s leader, we know that America will be next.”
The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, plans to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC).He warned that, if the ICC prosecutes Israeli officials, "we know that America will be next".Rejecting international law, he said the US and Israel "don't… pic.twitter.com/BYVhoYlxDP
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) May 28, 2024
During his address, Johnson noted that Congress was reviewing sanctions the US could place on the ICC.
Speaking to the press in Tel Aviv, US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) echoed Johnson's warning.
“The same model they're using to come after Israel and the IDF, they will use against us,” Graham said.
'I should be in Rafah'
"I would wish I were shoulder to shoulder with the men and women in Rafah," Pandor told the audience at the Cape Town mosque. "That is where I feel I should be."
“I get lots of emails,” she continued. “Sometimes from some of you here. You write to me and say, 'Minister Pandor, you are not radical enough. You are not doing enough. When are you going to lead a jihad?'”
The South African official went on to claim that nations and officials who provide military and financial assistance for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza “will be liable for prosecution as well.”
Pandor noted that a group of 140 international lawyers are currently working on a class action suit against non-Israelis, including South Africans, who have been serving in Israel’s military.
Tovah Lazaroff and Hannah Sarisohn contributed to this report.