Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. ZIMBABWE will continue to trade with Israel despite an international outcry over that country’s killing of defenceless children in Gaza, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana has said.
Israel embarked on a major military offensive in Gaza in response to an October 7, 2023, attack by a Palestinian armed group, Hamas. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed.
In an interview with NewsDay during the ministry’s visit to high-impact projects in Beitbridge, Mangwana said Zimbabwe would continue to trade with Israel until there was a United Nations decision against doing business with that country.
“We had countries that imposed sanctions on us and we found how painful it was, such that we do not wish it on anyone. We will wait for the UN to make a decision, but as a country, we will not make such a decision,” Mangwana said.
“Zimbabwe was a victim of that economic action and does not wish that imposed on any country because it causes unnecessary suffering of citizens. We cannot make that decision alone and will not do so,” he said.
Reports say as of July 30 this year, more than 63 000 people (61 805 Palestinians and 1 983 Israelis) have been reportedly killed in the Gaza war according to the Gaza Health ministry and the Israeli Foreign Affairs ministry.
Among these are 217 journalists and other media workers, 120 academics, and over 224 humanitarian aid workers, 179 of them employees of the UN.
Scholars have estimated that 80% of the Palestinians killed are civilians.
A study by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which verified fatalities from three independent sources, found that 70% of the Palestinians killed in residential buildings or similar housing were women and children.
Mangwana was speaking on the sidelines of a tour of Beitbridge Juice Plant.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services deputy minister, Omphile Marupi, led government and Schweppes Zimbabwe officials. Schweppes sells orange oils and other citrus products to foreign markets including Israel and the US.
Schweppes corporate affairs executive Ropafadzo Gwanetsa said orange oils and beverages made at their Beitbridge Juice Plant were sold locally and abroad, earning foreign currency.
In 2024, the company made US$1,1 million from external markets, including South Africa and Botswana, where demand for their products is high.
There are also plans to open another juice plant in Botswana as the company spreads its wings across the region.
Gwanetsa said the expansion would not compromise local production, but would grow their brand.
As part of its community responsibility, Beitbridge Juice Plant donates animal feed in the form of orange peels to communal farmers, she said.
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