South Africa protesters call for government to sever ties with Israel over Gaza war
CAPE TOWN: More than 3,000 people marched through Cape Town on Saturday (Sep 27), calling for South Africa to cut trade and diplomatic ties with Israel, including by shutting its embassy, over the war in Gaza.
Pretoria has been a leading critic of Israel's actions in Gaza, bringing a case before the United Nations' top court in December 2023 that argues Israel's war in the Palestinian territory amounts to genocide, a charge Israel has denied.
BIGGEST TURNOUT IN MONTHS
Saturday's demonstration brought together several pro-Palestinian organisations, political parties and Muslim and Christian groups in one of the largest such gatherings in recent months.
Waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners reading "Don't just feel bad, do something", the procession handed over a petition of demands at parliament.
South Africa must "boycott, divest and sanction Israel, the same way as the world did for us," said Palestine Solidarity Campaign coordinator Usuf Chikte, referring to international measures once used to pressure South Africa's apartheid regime.
DEMANDS TO GOVERNMENT
The government has to take action on the "kicking out of Israel's ambassador and embassy from South Africa now" and exclude Israel from international sporting bodies such as FIFA, Chikte told the crowd.
The petition also demanded the suspension of coal exports to Israel and the prosecution of any South Africans who enlist in the Israeli Defence Forces.
BACKGROUND TO THE CONFLICT
The war in Gaza broke out after Palestinian militants led by Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023.
That unprecedented assault resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has since killed at least 65,926 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, figures the United Nations deems reliable.
