In an assertive address to the United Nations Security Council, International Relations and Co-operations Minister Naledi Pandor said Israel's occupation of Palestine "bred hatred, suffering, and pain". 

Moreover, Pandor reiterated South Africa's call for a "two-state solution".

Speaking at the UN in New York on Tuesday, Pandor – while deploring the violence committed by the Israeli Defence Force and Hamas, which operates in the Gaza Strip – emphasised that Israel, according to South Africa's official position, was occupying Palestinian territories.

"Whilst we express concern at the current violence and deaths, we cannot ignore the fact that one more day of continued occupation has bred hatred, suffering, and pain. Just as Israel deserves peace and security, so are Palestinians deserving of sovereignty, peace and security. 

"For international law to be credible, it should be uniformly applied and not selectively," Pandor said. 

Her views follow those of Ambassador Mathu Joyini, South Africa's permanent UN representative, who, speaking to the international relations and co-operation department's broadcast Platform, Ubuntu Radio, said Pandor would use the two-day security council gathering, ending on Wednesday, to finally outline the country's official position on the current war that resurged in early October and claimed thousands of lives and hostages.

"It (Pandor's UN address) is reaffirming South Africa's position on those countries that need self-determination, countries like Palestine. What has been happening in Palestine over a number of years is not working at all," Joyini said on Tuesday. 

In accentuating South Africa's views on an occupied Palestine, Pandor said Israel, "as an occupying power", had an "obligation" over Palestinians not to collectively punish them in its conflict with Hamas.

"The killing of civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza by Israeli forces goes against the tenets of international law, which prohibits the targeting of non-combatants, especially women, the aged, and children. This does not detract from South Africa's concern at the actions of Hamas, which also targeted non-combatants," Pandor asserted.

Joyini revealed that Arab states had also called for an emergency special session in the General Assembly – which encompasses all 193 member states – as was done in February last year when Russia invaded Ukraine. 

When the emergency special session on the Russia-Ukraine war was opened in February, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres condemned the Russian invasion as "an affront to our collective conscience".

Joyini said the emergency session on Palestine was likely to open on Thursday, saying South Africa supported the Arab states' calls because "the security council has failed to act". 

"And we're hoping that member states will come through and really look at this issue objectively. It is needed that meeting in the General Assembly, and that comes about when the security council is failing."

Meanwhile, the international relations and co-operation department said Pandor would conclude her two-day United States visit by attending Wednesday's Women in Peace and Security open session, which "primarily highlights the impact of armed conflict on women and girls and to advocate for the full involvement of women in peace processes including conflict resolution, peace negotiations, peacekeeping, and post-conflict reconstruction".