

The African National Congress in Parliament is extremely outraged by the

wanton and unjustifiable bombardment and killings of innocent civilians,

including children, in Palestinian territory of Gaza by Israel military

forces. We echo the widespread condemnation of these senseless attacks

on defenceless Palestinians and call on the government of Israel to

immediately cease with this blatant act of criminality.



It is unacceptable that as the Israeli military is flagrantly violating

the territorial integrity of Gaza, claiming hundreds of lives and

injuring thousands, the United Nations Security Council fails to interve

decisively in line with its powers. The office of the UN Secretary

General issues statements which have not effect. The UN Security Council

must stand up and act to support vulnerable Palestinian people at the

time when they need their protection. The situation involving Palestine

and Israel is an undeclared war, in which the aggressor, Israel, has

destroyed the Palestinian economy, robbed people of their land,

unilaterally changed borders, and unilaterally built a wall of exclusion

to keep Palestinians out of their land. When it feels provoked, it

unleashes the most sophisticated military hardware on a defenceless

people. Palestinians have been reduced to cheap labour for the Israel

ecionomy. This relentless destruction of the Palestinian territory and

its people by Israel must be stopped. The international community needs

to act in unison on this matter.



As the ANC in Parliament, we stand unapologetically with the people of

Palestine and pro-Palestinian campaigners in an endeavour to exert

pressure on Israel’s government to comply with the UN Security Council

resolutions and stop its killings and gross persecution of Palestinian

people. We remain resolute in our view that the only long lasting

peaceful solution to the situation in the Middle East is the attainment

of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine in which the two

states exist side by side independently and peacefully.



Our strong condemnation of Israel's violent aggression, however, does

not in any way mean approval of the continuing firing of rockets by

Hamas into Israel, which has put the lives of innocent civilians at

risk. We echo the call by the South African government for both parties

to end all forms of aggression towards one another.



The ANC in Parliament will mobilise other political formations in this

institution to take a principled stand against the criminal acts of

Israel and further to ensure that Parliament as an institution formally

condemns the deadly violence visited upon the people of Palestine. We

will also invite other parties to the lunchtime picketing outside

Parliament in support of the people of Palestine and in calling for

peace in the Middle East region. As one of the measures to put pressure

on Israel, we are of a firm view that our government must recall our

ambassador to Israel and also ask the Israel ambassador to South African

to leave with immediate effect.



During this International Nelson Mandela Day in which South Africans and

the world are called upon to engage in noble acts in emulation of the

world icon, we align ourselves with his profound statement that “our

freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians”.


