DURBAN - THE KwaZulu-Natal Palestine Solidarity Forum held a picket outside the Durban International Convention Centre yesterday where President Cyril Ramaphosa was opening the Global Conference on the Elimination of Child labour.
The protest coincided with the commemoration of the 74th anniversary of the Nakba Day, observed each year on May 15 to highlight the destruction of Palestinian society and their homeland in 1948, and the permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people.
Member of the KZN Palestine Solidarity Forum and activist, Lubna Nadvi, said the aim of the protest action was to give Ramaphosa a message that the government should cut diplomatic ties with “apartheid Israel”.
“South Africa fought apartheid and we will continue to fight apartheid wherever it exists,” said Nadvi.
She said the group wanted to raise awareness on the issue of Palestine and Israel.
“People have a lot of energy regarding the war between Ukraine and Russia, but not much is said about the ongoing Israel-Palestine tension,” she said.
Nadvi said even though the group had no memorandum to hand over, Ramaphosa had been in close proximity to the demonstrators and she hoped he heard the message loud and clear.
Ramaphosa received a lot of backlash earlier this year when he welcomed the arrival of newly appointed Israeli Ambassador to South Africa, Eliav Belotsecovsky.
Reflecting on the recent death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank, Nadvi said it was an outrageous murder.
Abu Akleh was shot dead last week. The Palestinian government has said she was killed by Israeli forces, while Israel said the incident would be investigated.
“Israeli forces kill anyone; children, mothers, the elderly and they have killed so many journalists – they murdered her in cold blood.
“At her funeral, the Israeli army tried to knock down the coffin by attacking the coffin bearers and mourners. Again, this is not an issue of religion – it was an outrageous murder,” she said.
Akleh, the long-time TV correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, was killed while covering Israeli army raids in the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.
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