This is where South Africa’s biggest political parties stand on the Palestine-Israel situation. [Picture: Parliament of RSA]
South African voters might be keen to know which parties stood on which side of the line when atrocities of genocidal proportions were unleashed by Israel against the entrapped people of Gaza, Palestine.
The ongoing hostility between Hamas and Israel, now in week two on the battleground, has drawn international attention to a deadly violence that went on for nearly eight decades. Celebrities, organisations, governments and political parties have all had something to say.
Two of South Africa’s three largest parties have thrown their weight behind the Palestinian cause. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have, each in their own capacities, called out Israel’s aggression in the Middle East. The Democratic Alliance (DA), the second biggest party in the country, condemned Hamas’s resistance from the get-go.
SMread: It’s credible when we do it, it’s disinformation when you do
ANC
Speaking at an ANC event, President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as party leader, said they “unashamedly” supported the Palestinian cause. “We have always made our position clear, we have always been in alliance with the people of Palestine and we support their cause unashamedly.”
He also said, “We have called on the international community, the UN and all other concerned international bodies to make sure that peace is restored in Palestine and that the Israeli government is directed at withdrawing this command of getting people out of the northern part of Gaza. In the end it is going to almost genocide because people are going to die.”
SMread: The political world’s indifference to Palestinian suffering
DA
The DA, which enjoys much support from the Muslim electorate, swiftly condemned Al Aqsa Flood as an “unprovoked” attack. While acknowledging the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, the party further urged an end to the violence.
“The DA continues to support a viable and sustainable two-state solution based on UNSC resolutions 242 and 338. While we recognise the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, we equally recognise the right of the Israeli state to defend herself and her people,” said Emma Powell, DA shadow minister of International Relations and Cooperation and member of parliament.
EFF
The EFF deemed the Israeli regime to be an apartheid state. It has reiterated this stance and had planned a picket outside the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, although this had been postponed.
“The continued expansionist policy of the apartheid-Israel state is provocative. The building of settler houses in the land of Palestinian people and further land encroachment is against numerous UN resolutions that apartheid-Israel has flatly defied,” it said.
Several other smaller parties have also had their say on the matter. ActionSA condemned Hamas, while Al Jama-ah has consistently denounced Israeli aggression. The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the Patriotic Alliance (PA) have backed Israel while it perpetuates genocidal actions against a displaced population.
Julie Allie spoke to Nazier Paulsen, MP, about the EFF’s stance on the situation in Palestine. Watch the full discussion here.
