South Africa threatens prosecution, revoked citizenship for nationals who join IDF

South Africa issued a stark warning Monday against its civilians taking up arms with Israel, threatening prison time for those who do so without government approval.

Officials said they were “gravely concerned” by reports that the country’s nationals had joined the Israel Defense Forces in its war in Gaza against Hamas, adding that such action could violate domestic and international law.

“Any person joining the IDF without the necessary permission of the [National Conventional Arms Control Committee] is breaking the law and can be prosecuted,” South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement.

South Africans caught fighting in the IDF without approval could be thrown behind bars, while the punishment for naturalized nationals could result in their citizenship taken away, according to the country’s laws.

The warning made clear that the Republic of South Africa “does not support or agree with” Israel’s crusade against Hamas.

Last month, the country’s parliament voted to cut diplomatic ties with Israel shortly after it filed a referral to the International Criminal Court for an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.

President Cyril Ramaphosa had previously accused Israel of war crimes and acts “tantamount to genocide” just three weeks into the war.

Although it had condemned Hamas for its Oct. 7 surprise attack that killed 1,200 people, Ramaphosa claimed Israel was illegally retaliating by punishing Palestinian civilians through unrelenting bombings and the deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water.

Nearly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Talks for a second temporary truce between Israel and Hamas and hostage release negotiations apparently broke down Thursday after Hamas officials became incensed over Israel’s comments that the fighting will resume regardless of a cease-fire. 

Hamas leaders claimed the Jewish state was trying to lure the group into a temporary pause rather than end the war that has left Gaza in shambles, pointing to recent comments made by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicating the IDF would not stop fighting until Hamas is eradicated.

“Whoever thinks that we will stop is detached from reality,” he said Wednesday night. “We are continuing the war to the end. It will continue until Hamas is eliminated — until victory.”

The Jewish state believes that there are still 128 hostages in Gaza, not all of them alive, following the weeklong truce agreement that resulted in 105 captives being freed last month.