Africa-Press – Mauritius. Africa to participate in the Fifth Global Convention of Solidarity with Palestine. The delegation includes politburo member Bassem Naim, Hamas representative in Iran Khaled Qaddoumi and Hamas representative in East, Central and Southern Africa Emad Saber.
The delegation will meet representatives of political parties, civil society groups and the Palestine solidarity movement. It was not clear where in the country the event would be held, but it is scheduled to take place on Dec. 2-5.
South Africa is one of few countries that is not only sympathetic to the Palestinian cause despite officially advocating for a two-state solution, but recognizes Hamas as a legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
Last week, the National Assembly, South Africa’s parliament, voted 248–91 to close the Israel embassy and suspend diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. While the resolution is nonbinding, it has sent a chilling message to South African Jews.
The resolution was proposed by populist Economic Freedom Front (EFF) leader Julius Malema, who has engaged in inflammatory rhetoric against Israel in recent weeks including accusing the Cape Town Jewish school, Herzlia High, of being “a feeder school for the IDF.
Professor Karen Milner, the national chairman of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, said the debate in the National Assembly “was a pointless exercise because parliament does not determine the international relations of South Africa.
It is especially pointless, given Israel’s decision to withdraw its ambassador for consultation. “The jeers of EFF and ANC singing, ‘from the river to the sea,’ a chant which calls for the destruction of the only Jewish state, makes a mockery of the ANC’s stated position of supporting a two-state solution.
Pretoria also summoned its remaining diplomats in Israel to return home. There has not been an envoy to Israel since 2018. South Africa has taken a resolutely pro-Palestinian stance.
The government failed to condemn the atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, instead alleging that the “continued illegal occupation of Palestine land, continued settlement expansion, desecration of the Al-Aqsa mosque and Christian holy sites, and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people” resulted in “a devastating escalation.”
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