{"id":37376,"date":"2023-12-31T09:53:44","date_gmt":"2023-12-31T09:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza"},"modified":"2023-12-31T10:10:30","modified_gmt":"2023-12-31T10:10:30","slug":"lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza","title":{"rendered":"Lesotho rejects Israeli lobbying on Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>LESOTHO has rejected lobbying by Israel to support it in its war against the Palestinians in the Gaza strip, thepost heard this week. Foreign Affairs Minister Lejone Mpotjoane told parliament on Monday that Israel had wanted Lesotho to vote in approval of the war against the Palestinians, a request that was rejected.<\/p>\n

Mpotjoane was responding to a question by the All Basotho Convention (ABC) deputy leader, Dr Pinkie Manamolela, on Lesotho\u2019s position in the Israel-Hamas war.<\/p>\n

Dr Manamolela said it was worrying that the war had the potential to escalate adding that Lesotho should pronounce itself on such matters. Dr Manamolela said she was worried that \u201cthe world is sinking in conflict as many countries are now at war\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need peace, we must do something,\u201d she said. Mpotjoane said a meeting at the United Nations had called for a ceasefire in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201c120 countries voted for the decision while 14 refused and 45 abstained,\u201d Mpotjoane said.<\/p>\n

He said Lesotho \u201ccondemns the attack by Hamas and also condemns the way Israel reacted after that attack\u201d. \u201cThey killed women, the elderly and children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said Lesotho pleaded with Israel to \u201cput weapons down and stop pounding Palestinians with bombs\u201d. \u201cWe appeal to Israel to vacate Palestinian territory immediately,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mpotjoane said despite Israel\u2019s lobbying for support toward its war in the Gaza strip, they refused and voted against Israel. The war began on October 7 when Hamas guerrillas attacked Israel killing over 1 000 people.<\/p>\n

They also captured about 200 others who are still being held hostage. Since that day the Israeli forces have been bombing the Gaza Strip killing thousands of Palestinians.<\/p>\n

He said Israel was formed in 1948 after a decision by the United Nations that had only 58 members. \u201cThere were only four African countries (at the UN) at that time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mpotjoane said the establishment of Israel came after persuasion by the European countries. He added that 78 percent of the population there were Palestinians which ended up igniting wars when much of their land was given to the Israelis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey started fighting for land,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mpotjoane said the establishment of boundaries while establishing Israel as a sovereign state was unlawful as 56 percent of the country was given to the Israelis but only 44 percent was given to the Palestinians.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, Palestine has been turned into a colony,\u201d he said. He reminded the House that in 1967 a 60-day war between the Israelis and Arab countries started because of the same issues.<\/p>\n

He said at the end of the war the nations decided on boundaries where Gaza and West Bank were to continue to be part of Palestine and Jerusalem was a Palestinian city.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael began taking parts of Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem,\u201d he said. The appropriation of the land, he said, has caused conflicts between the two countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has always been tension between those two countries since the establishment of Israel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that at the current stage, about 11 000 people have died including women and children as Israel continues to bomb Gaza. \u201cSchools and churches have also been destroyed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Basotho National Party (BNP) leader, Machesetsa Mofomobe, stood on a point of order saying the Hamas Al Qassam Brigades \u201cdid the right thing by fighting for their rights\u201d. He argued that other countries have cut ties with the Israeli government by vacating their embassies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the position of Lesotho on Morocco and the Western Sahara,\u201d Mofomobe said, referring to Lesotho standing with Western Sahara in its struggle for independence from Morocco.<\/p>\n

Mofomobe said Lesotho should \u201cshow with actions that we are not happy with Israel\u201d. Reverend Paul Masiu, the MP for the LPC Alliance in parliament, argued that \u201cthe issue of Israel and Palestine needs to be analysed thoroughly\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should look at this matter spiritually as well,\u201d Masiu said.<\/p>\n

Mpotjoane said Lesotho does not have an embassy in Israel and therefore cannot, as other countries have done, withdraw its embassy there. \u201cBut we have relations with both countries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. LESOTHO has rejected lobbying by Israel to support it in its war against the Palestinians in the Gaza strip, thepost heard this week. Foreign Affairs Minister Lejone Mpotjoane told parliament on Monday that Israel had wanted Lesotho to vote in approval of the war against the Palestinians, a request that was rejected. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":37375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[233,246,2347,245],"class_list":["post-37376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-gaza","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nLesotho rejects Israeli lobbying on Gaza - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LESOTHO has rejected lobbying by Israel to support it in its war against the Palestinians in the Gaza strip, thepost hea ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lesotho rejects Israeli lobbying on Gaza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LESOTHO has rejected lobbying by Israel to support it in its war against the Palestinians in the Gaza strip, thepost hea ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-31T09:53:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-31T10:10:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/12\/sm_1704004713.328499.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"672\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Lesotho rejects Israeli lobbying on Gaza\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-31T09:53:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-31T10:10:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza\"},\"wordCount\":686,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/12\/sm_1704004713.328499.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Lesotho\",\"Gaza\",\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-rejects-israeli-lobbying-on-gaza\",\"name\":\"Lesotho rejects Israeli lobbying on Gaza - 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