Al-Qalam 
South Africa has gone where no other country had dared to go by taking Israel to the ICJ to be held to account for the genocide and ethnic cleansing that it is committing in Gaza. But while one hand is slapping Israel on the wrist, the other is feeding it via coal exports to Israel and literally fuelling the genocide whilst simultaneously condemning it.
Statistics and reports show that over a million tons of coal was sent to Israel during 2023 and 2024, valued at over 2 billion rands. Incidentally, a massacre which killed multiple civilians took place around the time SA sent a massive shipment of coal to Israel around September/October this year.
The South African public is extremely supportive of the Palestinian cause, and as such, there is a responsibility to inform them about the natural resources of the country being sent to a genocidal state that is built on the same abhorrent system of apartheid that we fought so valiantly to destroy. Thus, companies which mine, distribute and ship South African coal to Israel are complicit in the genocide and must be forced by the government to cease all coal exports to Israel immediately.
However, whilst this may seem like an obvious decision to make, the South African government has been resistant to any meaningful action regarding the coal issue. It has not engaged with trade unions, nor has it met with Palestine solidarity activists, or taken a single concrete action to cease such exports. DIRCO has passed the buck and stated, in response to the issue, that since the sale of coal is not restricted as a controlled substance under any of SA’s laws pertaining to conventional arms or weapons of mass destruction, or international arms-related treaties, the matter would be classified as a trade matter and should be dealt with by the relevant national departments.
Basically, DIRCO put us on hold whilst transferring the call to the relevant department, which will never answer the call.
Companies that are involved in the exportation of coal to Israel are Glencore, SASOL and South Dune. SASOL has denied exporting coal to Israel but also admits that because it supplies coal to traders only, it does not know who the end users are. According to a statement by COSATU, ‘Glencore is part of a global cartel involved in facilitating coal exports to Israel, which fuels the genocidal crimes by the Netanyahu regime against the Palestinian people.’
The South African public has a right to know that by supporting, investing, or participating in any activity relating to these companies, they are silent partners in this genocide.
Z Khan
(From KZN-PSF Group)
