The Foreign Ministry said that it is closely following up with the Egyptian embassy in Pretoria the killing of three Egyptian monks inside a Coptic monastery of Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Samuel the Confessor, affiliated to the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, in the city Cullinan in South Africa.

In a statement on Wednesday 13/3/2024, the ministry said Egyptian ambassador in Pretoria Ahmed el Fadali and the embassy staff instantly moved to the site of the incident after a direct communication with the leaders of the South African Police Service (SAPS)’s Forensics Division, who immediately began investigating the incident.

The Egyptian ambassador was keen on communicating with the people of the church at the monastery headquarters to offer condolences and assert the embassy’s close follow-up of the investigation with the aim of revealing the identity of the perpetrators and holding them accountable.

The Foreign Ministry also offered its sincere condolences to the families of the victims.

Source: St
ate Information Service Egypt

RAMALLAH: The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the caretaker government, Riyad al-Malki met today with the Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa accredited to the State of Palestine, Sean Benefeldt, at the Ministry’s headquarters in Ramallah.

During the meeting, Minister Malki expressed appreciation of the Palestinian leadership, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and the Palestinian people for the historic position of South Africa and its advocacy against the occupation in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

He stressed that this legal, humanitarian and moral effort is extremely important to expose the world’s corruption and double standards.

The Minister added that the provisional measures established by the ICJ are very important to show that Israel is continuing its crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Al-Malki also thanked South Africa for its participation in the oral argument sessions of the ICJ regarding the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied
Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

Al-Malki briefed Benfeldt on the latest developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, expressing his deep concern about the continuation of the genocidal war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which kills hundreds of Palestinian civilians daily, most of whom are women and children.

He stressed that the head of the occupation government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is not interested in a ceasefire, adding that he wants to prolong the aggression so that he can remain in power.

The Minister affirmed that the occupation is using starvation as a weapon of war, noting that there are approximately 600,000 Palestinians on the brink of starvation and expressing his disappointment with the international community because it is not doing enough to put pressure on Netanyahu.

Al-Malki touched upon the long and fierce war waged by the Israeli occupation state against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA),
stressing that the occupation aims to dismantle and erase the UN agency in an attempt to eliminate the refugee issue and the right of return.

He stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries and the necessity of holding a regular joint ministerial committee for strategic dialogue and political consultations, affirming the support of the State of Palestine for the elections taking place in the Republic of South Africa.

For his part, Ambassador Benfeldt affirmed his country’s permanent support for the justice of the Palestinian cause and its steadfast support for the Palestinian struggle and rights, expressing his regret at the continuation of the Israeli aggression and the failure to implement a ceasefire until this moment.

He praised the position of the Palestinian leadership in dealing with the escalation taking place in the West Bank, stressing the importance of completing political consultations between the two countries and strengthening bilateral relations.

S
ource: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA