President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated the South African government’s position in favour of negotiations that would lead to the coexistence of Palestine and Israel under a two-state solution. He met with the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) on Wednesday.
In a meeting with the SAJBD and the SA Zionist Federation, at the Presidential residence Mahlamba Ndlopfu in Pretoria. In a statement released later that day, the Presidency said the Zionist lobby group petitioned the president to, among other things, “restore full diplomatic recognition of Israel, including the re-opening of the South African embassy in Tel Aviv” and to “act against the boycott of Israeli and Jewish businesses in South Africa”.
In November, Parliament voted overwhelmingly to oust apartheid Israel’s embassy from Pretoria. A consumer boycott campaign against pro-Zionist companies has also pressured businesses to opt out of supporting the occupying state or feel the pinch.
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Pretoria’s position on a two-state solution
In response to the Zionists demands, Ramaphosa “reiterated the South African government position on the current conflict in Israel and Palestine”, according to the Presidency.
While affirming that his administration “stands with the people of Palestine who have endured over seven decades of apartheid type of brutal occupation”, he also “condemned the attacks carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023 on Israeli citizens, including women and children” and called for the return of hostages captured by the Hamas resistance group.
Furthermore, he called for “the resumption of negotiations between Palestinians and Israel that will lead to a two-state solution along the 1967 internationally recognised borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine”.
