ISTANBUL
A former Israeli commander cancelled his trip to South Africa on Sunday over fears of being arrested due to his role in Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, according to local media.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said that Major General Doron Almog, the head of the Jewish Agency for Israel, scrapped his planned visit to South Africa, where he was set to meet the local Jewish community there.
In late 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Tel Aviv of committing a genocide and war crimes in Gaza, in violation of the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Almog served as the commander of the Southern Command in the Israeli army between 2000 and 2003, before his appointment as the chair of the executive in the Jewish Agency for Israel.
The Jewish Agency for Israel is a public body established in August 1929 to serve as the executive arm of the Zionist movement, tasked with encouraging Jewish migration to the Palestinian lands.
Almog faced an arrest warrant in Britain in 2005 due to his involvement in the destruction of nearly 50 Palestinian homes in Rafah in southern Gaza. He was compelled to return to Israel without leaving the plane at the time.
Several Israeli officials and soldiers are facing prosecutions abroad by human rights organizations over involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel has killed more than 63,400 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.