CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) \u2014 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accused Israel of war crimes and acts \u201ctantamout to genocide\u201d in Gaza during a virtual meeting of leaders of developing countries including\u00a0Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin\u00a0and\u00a0China\u2019s Xi Jinping\u00a0on Tuesday. Ramaphosa also condemned Hamas for its attack on Israeli civilians that sparked\u00a0the conflict\u00a0and said both sides were guilty of violating international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime,\u201d Ramaphosa said at the start of the meeting of leaders and top diplomats from\u00a0the BRICS bloc\u00a0of countries. \u201cThe deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn its attacks on civilians and by taking hostages, Hamas has also violated international law and must be held accountable for these actions,\u201d Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin and Xi struck more cautious notes, calling for a cease-fire and the release of civilian hostages but not launching the same level of criticism of either side as Ramaphosa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also joining the meeting were leaders and officials from fellow BRICS members Brazil and India, and from Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, which are\u00a0set to join the bloc\u00a0in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ramaphosa chaired the \u201cextraordinary meeting\u201d and made the opening remarks because of South Africa\u2019s position as current chair of BRICS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin said there was a \u201chumanitarian catastrophe\u201d unfolding in Gaza and it was \u201cshocking to watch how surgeries are performed on children without anesthesia.\u201d He again blamed the crisis on what he called failed diplomacy by the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll these events, in fact, are a direct consequence of the U.S. desire to monopolize mediation functions in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement,\u201d Putin said while appearing on teleconference from the Kremlin. He called for a cease-fire in Gaza, the freeing of hostages and the evacuation of civilians from the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin\u2019s comments were in line with Russia\u2019s\u00a0careful approach\u00a0to the Israel-Hamas war, which may present an opportunity for it to advance its role as a global power broker. Putin proposed last month that Moscow could mediate in the conflict due to its relationships with both Israel and the Palestinians. He said Tuesday that the BRICS bloc could play \u201ca key role\u201d in finding a political settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Putin has condemned the\u00a0Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants\u00a0on towns in southern Israel that led to\u00a0Israel\u2019s offensive\u00a0in Gaza, now in its seventh week, while warning Israel over its response and against blockading the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 12,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank. Officials there say another 4,000 are missing. Around 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mainly civilians during the Hamas attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia and China are leading voices in BRICS, which has largely cast itself in recent years as standing against the perceived dominance of the West in global affairs. But it has struggled to adopt united policies or positions on many issues because of the differing priorities of the five current members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting came a day after China\u2019s top diplomat\u00a0hosted the foreign ministers\u00a0of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Indonesia in Beijing, their first stop on a tour of U.N. Security Council permanent members. That underlined China\u2019s longstanding support for the Palestinians and its growing geopolitical influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India, which also wants to be seen as a leader of the developing world, has long\u00a0walked a tightrope\u00a0between Israel and the Palestinians and historically has close ties to both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa has been fiercely critical of Israel over the war in Gaza and\u00a0had already filed a request\u00a0with the International Criminal Court to investigate it over alleged war crimes. South Africa has for years compared Israel\u2019s policies in Gaza and the West Bank with its own past apartheid regime of racial segregation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa\u2019s Parliament was to vote on a motion on Tuesday to\u00a0shut down the Israeli Embassy\u00a0and sever diplomatic ties over the war, leading Israel to recall its ambassador to South Africa for discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ramaphosa called for the\u00a0International Criminal Court\u00a0to \u201curgently\u201d initiate prosecutions against those responsible for what he termed war crimes on both sides. He said South Africa also wants to see a cease-fire and the deployment of a U.N. force to monitor the cease-fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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