South Africa’s support for the Palestinian cause is the culmination of a confused and increasingly troubling diplomatic trend for a country with whom the U.S. now questions its bilateral cooperation, critics have claimed. 

“The South African government has fallen hook, line and sinker for Russian propaganda,” Peter Doran, an adjunct senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and former president of the Center for European Policy Analysis, told Fox News Digital. 

“Russia has proposed to all African countries that the United States and Western powers are colonialists, whose interests are not aligned with theirs, whereas Russia and China are benign benefactors and friends in the world,” Doran said. 

“The truth is that Russia stands as the 20th century’s worst colonial power. Russia has hidden that, and it doesn’t present that part of its history to South Africa, and so many African countries, especially South Africa, have fallen for Russian propaganda about colonialism,” he added. 

“Ultimately, we have a strong relationship with South Africa, and because we have a strong relationship, we have had open and frank conversations about all of these issues and priorities,” the spokesperson said, adding that the U.S. echoes “long-standing calls… that the PRC must respect host country laws and international obligations.”

People on a yacht, right, protest against the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov docked in the Cape Town harbour South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. ​14​, 2023 en route to the South African east coast to conduct naval exercises with the South African and Chinese Navy. The exercise is set to begin Friday Feb. 17, 2023, a demonstration of the countries’ close ties amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s tense relationship with the West. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht) ((AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht))

Part of the problem derives from South Africa’s economic struggles: Already struggling with the world’s highest unemployment rate, Cape Town reported in February that unemployment increased to 32.1% in the fourth quarter of 2023 – a total of 7.9 million unemployed people. 

The International Monetary Fund in 2023 reported that South Africa had recorded “weak growth” of around 0.4% between January and March, citing “crippling power cuts, volatile commodity prices and a challenging external environment” as significant contributing factors. 

People gather outside the International Court of Justice in the Hague, the Netherlands, on Jan. 26, 2024, as the ICJ ruled on South Africa’s accusations against Israel. (Nikos Oikonomou/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“The country has faced rolling blackouts after years of mismanagement of the state-owned utility, Eskom, prompting the authorities to ease the registration process and licensing requirements for energy production to encourage private sector investment,” the IMF wrote, adding that an “elevated debt level – one of the highest among emerging markets – limits the government’s ability to respond to shocks.”

South Africa has also showed support for Russia and China by abstaining from condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and parroting blame of NATO for provoking the conflict. The country also hosted Russian and Chinese naval forces for an exercise that occurred on the anniversary of the invasion. 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has also expressed support for Iran, long known as a sponsor of Hamas – as well as almost two dozen Islamic extremist groups – calling Iran a “true and reliable friend.” Iran has also looked to join BRICS as one of the countries that helped almost double the group’s membership in the first of several planned expansions. 

The South African Foreign Ministry did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.