SOUTH AFRICA F.M.: ‘ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE TARGETING MY FAMILY’

Israeli intelligence services have Naledi Pandor in their crosshairs. That’s according to the South African foreign minister. She recently conveyed to @salaam_onair that people have sent her threatening messages on social media that have mentioned her children, which prompted her to ask for more security.

However, Pandor remains unshaken in her support for Palestine. Pandor criticised the African Union for granting observer status to Israel in 2022 without consulting member-states, going on to say South Africa would have to reconsider its membership. In 2023, the AU rescinded Israel’s observer status.

Meanwhile, Israeli intelligence has been used for ulterior ends against Africa. For example, a 2021 leak alleged Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group’s spyware, Pegasus, monitored South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, since 2019. Rwanda’s government had been accused of placing Ramaphosa’s phone number on a list of thousands of people to track using Pegasus. However, Rwanda denied the claim.