South African Parliament votes to reduce level of relations with “Israel”

Pretoria (ST): The South African Parliament voted yesterday on a resolution to reduce the level of diplomatic relations with the Israeli occupation entity due to the continued attacks and violations against the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Wafa News Agency quoted the National Freedom Party, which submitted the draft resolution, as saying in a statement: “(Israel) was established as a result of displacing, killing, and tightening control over the Palestinians through the apartheid system, and we  as citizens of South Africa, refuse to stand idly while the crime of racist separation is committed again.”

The party indicated that this step comes as a translation of South Africa’s policy of supporting oppressed peoples in the world, as the late President Nelson Mandela, a symbol of the fight against apartheid, always said: “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Palestinian National Council welcomes the decision of the South African Parliament

The Palestinian National Council welcomed the decision of the South African parliament to reduce the level of diplomatic relations with the Israeli occupation entity in response to the daily crimes it commits against the Palestinian people.

The President of the Council, Ruhi Fattouh, said in a statement: The isolation of the occupation at the international level is an important step and a message of solidarity with the Palestinian people who suffer from the occupation and the policy of apartheid. He pointed out that South Africa is a symbol of freedom and victory over the racism that its people suffered from for many years.

For its part, the Fatah movement affirmed that the decision to reduce the level of diplomatic relations with the occupying entity embodies the depth of the historical relationship between Palestine and South Africa at the official and popular levels, and constitutes a message of support and backing for the Palestinian people in light of the continuous Israeli aggression they face, which violates all UN resolutions and international and humanitarian laws.

Fatah called on the countries of the world to follow the example of South Africa in dealing with the occupying entity based on its crimes against the Palestinian people, and not based on relations of interests and domination.

K.Q, R. Sawas