TEHRAN- The South African ambassador to Iran, Francis Molloy, has noted that his nation stands with the Palestinians till their full liberation and will never yield to no pressure.

In an exclusive interview with IRNA on Saturday, he offered details about the recent lawsuit that was filled against the Israeli regime. 

South Africa filed the lawsuit in December, accusing Israel of committing genocide against the people of Gaza. 

The representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories said that the situation in the Gaza Strip is “nothing less than catastrophic”.

On January 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its ruling on the emergency measures requested by South Africa in its genocide case against Israel over its war on the Gaza Strip.

Responding to a question about Pretoria’s intention to file a lawsuit against the Tel Aviv regime, he averred that the fight of the Palestinian people against the Israeli regime is exactly like the people of South Africa’s battle with the Apartheid regime in a bid to seek freedom and justice.

“Most importantly, this is done due to widespread supports of the world countries, including Iran and Palestine, to the South African nations which they managed to follow the fight for freedom and justice,” he added. 

Molloy also stressed that “when we achieved freedom in 1994, Palestine was still struggling to determine its own fate. President Mandela said that our freedom as South Africans would not be complete until other people in the world also became free.”

He continued by saying that the importance of the case is that “we have brought it to the International Court of Justice in response to the events of the past 100 days. It is very clear that what Israel has done in Gaza since October 7th is clearly genocide.” 

“As signatories to the Genocide Convention, we as South Africans do our best to thwart mass murder and punish all behind the crimes against the Palestinian people,” he continued. 

In a response to a question about the possible threats of the Israeli regime given the ramifications of filing a lawsuit in the CJI, he stressed that the fight for justice and freedom is not easy and it is obvious that the Palestinians are facing a very powerful enemy.

“We know well that several countries around the world would support Israel and would not be pleased with the position we have taken,” he added.

The ambassador went on to note that “Israeli officials essentially accuse us of collaborating with Hamas and say that we are Hamas’ legal arm to sideline the case.”

“The Palestinian people have suffered a lot in the past 75 years and are currently undergoing systematic onslaught, he said, adding that “there is suppression, occupation, and denial of human rights in the land.” 

Given the question on the Israeli possible pressure to prevent South Africa from following the case, the South African envoy to Iran pointed out that based on certain remarks that are made by the Israeli regime’s officials and some European countries, Pretoria has received nothing special in this regard.  

“One of the issues raised in the court is the language used by Israeli officials to address the Palestinian people. For example, Zionists have declared that 'we are fighting against humane animals'. What causes them to use such phrases?” he explained. 

Molloy also stated that the investigations clearly demonstrate how Israel has treated the Palestinians over all these years. “We are well aware of their denial of human rights for the Palestinian people, which is one of the strategies they use to suppress them.”

“If you take heed of the statements of several experts investigating genocide cases, they always say that proving intent is very difficult; no country exists that openly declares genocide as its official policy,” he said, adding, “Officials in countries accused of genocide do not talk openly about it; you have to infer their intentions from their actions. But in the case of Israel, expressions related to genocide are explicitly expressed by top regime officials, including the president, prime minister, and cabinet members,” he underscored.