National Assembly agrees to suspend diplomatic ties with Israel until ceasefire
The National Assembly has agreed to a motion to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel until such time as it agrees to a ceasefire.
CAPE TOWN - The National Assembly has agreed to a motion to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel until such time as it agrees to a ceasefire.
This is one of two amendments tabled on Tuesday afternoon by the African National Congress (ANC) to the original motion as introduced by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) for debate last week.
The other condition is that Israel commits to binding UN-led negotiations that must result in lasting peace.
EFF leader Julius Malema said he had no objection to the ANC's amendments and thanked the party for backing his motion.
"We want to applaud the ANC for its maturity on this matter. It doesn’t matter, politically, we can disagree, but when it comes to issues of humanity, we must protect the human rights of all human beings all over the world."
The NFP, PA and Al Jama-ah also supported the amended motion, which includes closing the South African embassy in Tel Aviv, as well as the Israeli embassy in Pretoria.
However, the DA, IFP, FF Plus and ACDP objected, saying it was a short-sighted move that would exclude South Africa from any peace talks.
ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina lashed back, saying their response was unsurprising.
"Today we are supposed to speak in one voice as parties to say 'cease fire, free Palestine' but because you benefit out of whatever makes you feel good, you don’t want to support anything."
