Diplomatic relations between the two countries have witnessed tension recently as a result of the Israeli war on Gaza.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said earlier that his country believes that Israel is committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians were killed.
For its part, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its account on the X website, late on Monday, “Following the recent statements by South Africa, the Israeli ambassador in Pretoria was summoned to Jerusalem for consultations.”
The ambassador’s summons came before the South African Parliament held a vote to close the Israeli embassy and sever all ties with Israel until the Gaza ceasefire is implemented.
The proposal put forward by the leftist opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party has the support of the ruling African National Congress and other smaller parties.
South Africa announced last week that it had referred what it described as “genocide” committed by Israel in Gaza to the International Criminal Court for investigation, and its government called on the International Criminal Court on Monday to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Given these current crimes taking place in much of the world, including statements of genocidal intent by many Israeli leaders, we anticipate issuing arrest warrants for these leaders, including… “Including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, soon.”
Earlier this month, South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel and withdrew all its diplomatic staff from the country.
The conflict will also be the subject of a virtual meeting of BRICS countries on Tuesday, which will be attended by the bloc’s leaders, including Ramaphosa, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The economic bloc was formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009, and South Africa joined it in 2010. Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia are also scheduled to join BRICS.
The war between Israel and Hamas broke out after the movement’s surprise attacks on Israel on October 7, and Israeli retaliatory attacks on Gaza have killed more than 12,700 people so far, according to Palestinian health authorities.
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