Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Naledi Pandor has condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza. File picture: Katlholo Maifadi/Dirco
Pretoria – The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has reacted angrily to government’s condemnation of Israeli attacks on Gaza which have reportedly left at least 44 Palestinians, almost half of them civilians, including children, dead.
“Six months and tens of thousands of civilian deaths later, we are still waiting for our Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) to condemn Russia's barbaric war of aggression against the Ukrainian people. By comparison, within hours of armed clashes breaking out on the Israel-Gaza border, Dirco Minister Naledi Pandor had rushed to issue yet another virulent denunciation of the Jewish state,” said SAJBD national director Wendy Kahn.
“South Africa evidently has no problem with most countries defending themselves against violent Islamist extremism. In fact, South African troops have been fighting that very scourge just across our border in Mozambique.”
Kahn said South Africa’s outrage is reserved solely for condemning Israeli acts of “retaliation”.
“When it comes to Israel defending its citizens against terror by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, however, it appears as though our minister has little sympathy for Jewish lives. One waited in vain for our government to express condolences when dozens of Israelis were killed or injured in a wave of terrorist attacks earlier this year,” said Kahn.
“As always, all expressions of outrage were reserved solely for condemning Israeli acts of retaliation. We have become all too used to gross displays of hypocrisy on the part of Dirco, but with this latest demonstration, Minister Pandor has sunk to a new low.”
On Saturday, the Department of International Relations “strongly” condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza which have led to the death of many, including a 5-year-old child.
“Attacks that kill innocent civilians have no justification, and they are more abhorrent as they are committed by an occupying power which has besieged the Gaza Strip for over a decade in contravention of international law. As an occupying power, Israel has specific obligations in terms of international human rights and humanitarian law, which it continues to breach without being held accountable,” the department said.
“The international community has an obligation to ensure that international law is not violated indiscriminately and to urgently stop the Israeli occupation forces repeated attacks against civilians, especially women and children, as well as the illegal blockade in Gaza.”
Reuters reported that Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group declared a truce late on Sunday, after nearly three days of violence, raising hopes of an end to the most serious flare-up on the Gaza frontier in more than a year.
IOL