Trump halts aid to South Africa over the Lands Law and Prosecuting Israel
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to halt US financial aid to South Africa, against the backdrop of the country’s recently issued land ownership law, and also following Pretoria’s pursuit of the Israeli occupation before the International Criminal Court on charges of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The executive order, published by the White House, condemned what it called “Atrocious Acts” in South Africa regarding the confiscation of agricultural lands from racial minorities, referring to white farmers, adding that work would be done on a plan to receive South African farmers and their families as refugees.
Trump said in the executive order that the law to expropriate racially-minority farmland was preceded by hateful rhetoric and government actions that fueled disproportionate violence against some landowners, and that there are countless government policies that aim to undermine equal opportunity in employment, education, and business.
The executive order explained that South Africa had taken aggressive positions towards the United States and its allies, referring to the complaint it had filed against the Israeli occupation before the International Criminal Court, which Trump had imposed sanctions on the previous day for initiating baseless legal proceedings against his country and the Israeli occupation state.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in January passed a law allowing the government in certain circumstances to expropriate land for the public good without providing any compensation whatsoever, and he explained in response to Trump’s accusations a few days ago that this law is constitutionally enshrined.
The land issue in South Africa is highly divisive, with most agricultural land still owned by whites three decades after the end of apartheid.
