The South African Parliament in Cape Town (WAFA Image)
Cape Town (UNA-OIC) – The South African Parliament has expressed its deep concerns over the Israeli plan to annex portions of the occupied West Bank and the resulting tensions that the plan could pose.
The Chairperson of the South African Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation, Tandi Mahambehlala, said: “We are calling for a prompt, acceptable and lasting solution towards the Middle East peace negotiations. Any resolution must lead to the lasting socio-economic stability and political statehood for the people of Palestine.”
Ms Mahambehlala called on the people of Palestine to remain calm and resolute as they face the twin challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and Israel’s illegal plan to annex parts of the Palestinian territory. She reaffirmed that South Africa supports the aspirations of the people of Palestine for the creation of a viable and independent Palestinian state that living in coexistence with Israel.
The South African official likened the Israeli annexation plan to the apartheid government’s violence of forced removals, reminding the Palestinian people about the long history of South Africa’s solidarity with the people of Palestine and repeated what former President Nelson Mandela said about that solidarity: “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
“We continue to support previous resolutions adopted by the United Nations to bring lasting stability and peace to the people of Israel and Palestine. We further call on the Israeli armed forces to stop targeting innocent people, especially children, and to end all forms of violence against the people of Palestine,” she stressed.
