George Galloway has called on South Africa to stop exporting coal to Israel, arguing that the country should match its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice with further economic action.
The veteran British politician and broadcaster told the Mail & Guardian in Cape Town that South Africa’s case had already achieved something significant, regardless of the eventual judgment.
“It has re-energised the international solidarity movement. It has put South Africa front and centre,” Galloway said.
He said the case had also brought renewed attention to Nelson Mandela’s declaration that South Africa’s freedom would be incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians.
“It reminded everyone that, whatever the disappointments, and clearly there are a lot of disappointed people in South Africa, the liberation movement did not lose sight of its historic purpose.”
Galloway said South Africa should now consider going further by ending its coal exports to Israel.
He said about 3% of South Africa’s coal exports went to Israel, while claiming they constituted 27% of Israel’s coal imports.
“It’s significant for them, but not that significant for you,” he said.
Galloway argued that alternative markets could be found for the coal, including China and Vietnam.
“We’ve accused this country of genocide. We really can’t sell them coal at the same time.”
He said ending the exports would remove what he regarded as a contradiction between South Africa’s case at the ICJ and its continued trade with Israel.
“Why not take the moral high ground and say, well, we think you’re guilty of genocide, so we can hardly fuel your economy?”
South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel at the ICJ in December 2023, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention in Gaza. The court has issued three sets of provisional measures, but has yet to rule on the merits of South Africa’s genocide allegation. Israel rejects the allegation.
South Africa maintains that Israel has failed to comply with the court’s orders. In August, Pretoria submitted a further dossier to the ICJ detailing what it said was Israel’s continued non-compliance with the provisional measures.
Galloway said he remained deeply sceptical about the ability of international courts to protect Palestinians because they had no independent means of enforcing their decisions.
But he said that did not diminish the significance of South Africa bringing the case.
“The moral power of a positive finding by the ICJ will spur the solidarity movement,” he said.
Galloway also argued that BRICS countries should play a greater role in international affairs, saying existing institutions had failed to restrain powerful states.
He singled out China, saying its political influence still lagged behind its economic weight and that Beijing could do more on Palestine.
Galloway linked South Africa’s present role to the international solidarity movement during apartheid. He recalled what he described as the strategy of “the hammer and the anvil” — resistance within South Africa combined with international solidarity abroad.
He said the same principle applied to Palestine.
“The Palestinians cannot liberate Palestine on their own. They need an anvil. But you still need the hammer, or the anvil’s useless.”
Galloway said the response to his South African tour reflected the depth of public support for Palestine and urged South Africans not to underestimate its significance.
“There’s nowhere in the world that you could get the kind of support for Palestine that you get in South Africa,” he said.
For Galloway, that support was rooted in the country’s own history.
“It exists because of the struggle.”