South African rights and environmental activists urged the government to block Israeli-linked Navitas Petroleum from acquiring offshore energy assets.
The campaign targets the firm’s proposed 37.5 percent stake purchase in the energy-rich Orange Basin along South Africa’s west coast.
Activists dispatched a formal objection to Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe to halt the strategic ocean deal.
Civil society groups stated that granting approval would financially aid Israel and make Pretoria complicit in ongoing hostilities against Palestinians.
They highlighted South Africa’s international legal actions against Israel at the International Court of Justice as justification for rejecting the transaction.
Campaigners also warned that offshore drilling threatens marine life and accelerates global climate change along ecologically sensitive coastlines.
The objection follows a Constitutional Court ruling barring oil giant Shell from conducting seismic exploration along the country’s Wild Coast.
The Orange Basin remains a lucrative frontier, holding estimated reserves of several billion barrels of oil and natural gas.
South African authorities have not yet issued a decision regarding the corporate asset transfer request.