By Enyichukwu Enemanna
South Africa will on Tuesday play host to a virtual summit of the BRICS bloc, a group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, where discussions would centre around the Israel-Hamas war that has entered its sixth week, Pretoria and Moscow said in a statement on Monday.
The war was sparked by Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, in which about 1,200 people, mostly civilians were killed, with almost 240 people taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
A retaliation by Israel has caused a huge damage on Gaza, Palestinian territory believed to be the hideout of the group which the west brands terrorists organization.
Expected to attend the summit of BRICS, a group of major emerging economies seeking to challenge the US and western domination in global economy are countries due to officially join the bloc in January.
They include, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
The Tuesday’s “Extraordinary Joint Meeting on the Middle East Situation in Gaza” will be hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the hope of drawing up a common response to the conflict, the statement noted.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will also participate, the South African presidency said in a statement.
It added that all five BRICS heads of state will join the virtual summit, after which a joint statement with particular reference to Gaza is expected.
South Africa has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party often linking it to its own struggle against apartheid.
The ANC said last Thursday that it would support a parliamentary motion to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel until it agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza, decrying the “genocidal actions of the Israeli regime”.
On Friday, South Africa joined four other nations in calling for an International Criminal Court investigation into the Israel-Hamas war.
China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinians and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Beijing has been calling for an immediate ceasefire since the start of the war last month.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of stoking tensions in the Middle East, and criticised Israel for its conduct in the conflict.
Putin skipped the last BRICS annual summit in Johannesburg as he is the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant — a provision that South Africa as an ICC member would be expected to implement if he were to set foot in the country.
The warrant was issued over alleged war crimes in Ukraine against Moscow.
