Johannesburg - The National Freedom Party (NFP) will be introducing a draft resolution in Parliament to downgrade South Africa’s embassy in Israel.
The party said this was a direct response to the inhumane and oppressive treatment of Palestinians by the State of Israel.
The NFP says the systematic and institutionalised practices of racial discrimination, apartheid and torture could not be ignored any longer.
The NFP leader in Parliament, Ahmed Munzoor Shaik Emam, said as a country that has experienced the devastating effects of apartheid, South Africa could not turn a blind eye to the gross human rights violations being committed against Palestinians.
“It is imperative for South Africa to take a stand and speak out against these atrocities. We therefore call upon all political parties to support this resolution to downgrade South Africa’s embassy in Israel,” he said.
Emam said the downgrading of the embassy in Israel would send a strong message that South Africa does not tolerate such human rights violations.
The NFP highlighted that, during the apartheid era, downgrading diplomatic relations with South Africa was a powerful tool for the international community to exert pressure on the apartheid government to end its discriminatory policies.
“By downgrading our embassy in Israel, we will send a strong message that South Africa will not tolerate or condone any country that practises racial segregation and apartheid-like policies. This action will put diplomatic pressure on Israel to end its discriminatory policies,” said a party statement.
“The attempts to reduce the Palestinian Struggle for liberation to merely a religious conflict is a reductionist approach that ignores the complex and varied nature of the oppression and human rights violations being committed against Palestinians by the State of Israel,” said Emam.
“We urge all MPs to stand for freedom, justice and human rights by supporting this resolution,“ said Emam.
The NFP said the adoption of this resolution would send a clear and unambiguous message that South Africa stood unwaveringly for human rights and against any form of apartheid or racial discrimination.
The Star