The agreement also stipulated that neither party could waive it unilaterally. Winters are cool and rainy, it`s from mid-November to mid-February. Summers, on the other hand, can be very hot from June to August, especially in the south. Weeks before Peres botha offered nuclear warheads, the two defense ministers signed a secret agreement on the military alliance known as Secment. It was so secret that it implied a denial of its own existence: « It is expressly agreed that the existence of this agreement itself. are secret and may not be divulged by either party. « Top secret » minutes of meetings between senior officials of the two countries in 1975 show that South African Defense Minister PW Botha asked about the warheads and Shimon Peres, then Israel`s defense minister and now president, responded by offering them « in three sizes. » The two men also signed a far-reaching agreement on military relations between the two countries, which included a clause declaring that « the very existence of this agreement » should remain secret. On July 14, 1991, four days after the United States ended its economic and cultural sanctions against South Africa, Israel also lifted its sanctions. In the four years they were in force, Israel`s trade deficit with South Africa amounted to about $750 million. The sanctions did not apply to agreements signed before they were imposed in 1987.
Although Israel has always condemned apartheid,[54] it has long been concerned about punitive measures resulting from Israel`s own vulnerability to international embargoes by the United Nations and Third World-dominated bodies. [55] [dead link] The resumption of open relations no longer implied military cooperation. [56] When then-President F. W. de Klerk visited Israel in November 1991 and participated in negotiations to end apartheid. Israelis responded warmly to his statement that there will be « a new constitution » in South Africa, « which we believe should be a constitution that prevents a minority from governing in one form or another, but also majority rule in the sense that no majority should be able to abuse its power. » During de Klerk`s state visit, he and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir agreed to normalize relations. [54] The documents confirm the reports of a former South African naval commander, Dieter Gerhardt, imprisoned in 1983 for spying for the Soviet Union. After his release with the collapse of apartheid, Gerhardt said there was an agreement between Israel and South Africa called Chalet, which included an offer from the Jewish state to arm eight Jericho missiles with « special warheads. » Gerhardt said they were atomic bombs. But so far, there has been no documentary evidence of the offer. Nelson Mandela first visited Israel and the Palestinian territories in 1999 after handing over the presidency of South Africa to Thabo Mbeki.
He had never received an invitation from Israel. [70] He met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders such as Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat. He said: « To the many people who wondered why I came, I say: Israel worked very closely with the apartheid regime. I say: I have made peace with many men who have slaughtered our people like animals. Israel cooperated with the apartheid regime, but it did not participate in any atrocities. Mandela reiterated his unwavering opposition to Israeli control of Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and southern Lebanon. And he noted that after his release from prison in 1990, he received invitations to visit « almost every country in the world except Israel. » [71] [72] Israel pressured the current South African government not to disclose the documents received from Polakov-Suransky. « The Israeli Defense Ministry tried to block me from accessing the agreement on the grounds that they are sensitive documents, especially the signature and date, » he said.
« South Africans didn`t seem to care; they blackened a few lines and handed them to me. The ANC government is not so concerned about protecting the dirty laundry of former apartheid allies. Israel established a legation in South Africa in 1952 and was transformed into an embassy in 1974. .