More than 3,000 people marched through Cape Town on Saturday, calling for South Africa to cut trade and diplomatic ties with Israel, including by shutting its embassy, over the war in Gaza. Pretoria has been a leading critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, bringing a case before the UN’s top court in December 2023 that argues Israel’s war in the Palestinian territory amounts to genocide, a charge Israel has denied. South Africa must “boycott, divest and sanction Israel, the same way as the world did for us,” said Palestine Solidarity Campaign coordinator, Usuf Chikte, referring to international measures used to pressure South Africa’s apartheid regime. The petition also demanded that the government suspend its exports of coal to Israel and prosecute any South Africans who enlist in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). The war in Gaza broke out after Palestinian militants led by Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.