Parties, Palestine supporters want SA to adopt anti-apartheid legislation directed at Israel
Hundreds of supporters took to the streets of Cape Town on Saturday as part of a national march in support of Palestine, which has come under Israeli attack for exactly a year.
Supporters of Palestine and Lebanon during a march to Parliament in Cape Town on 5 October 2024 to protest Israel's conflict with the two countries. Picture: Melikhaya Zagagana/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - Political parties and supporters of Palestine want South Africa to adopt new anti-apartheid legislation directed at Israel or any country guilty of apartheid.
Hundreds of supporters took to the streets of Cape Town on Saturday as part of a national march in support of Palestine, which has come under Israeli attack for exactly a year.
They now want sanctions against Israel to be written into the country's laws.
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October 7 marks exactly one year since the attack on Israel by Hamas but there is still no end in sight on the conflict, which has seen tens of thousands killed, with millions displaced.
Those who marched in support of Palestine and Lebanon, which is also under Israeli attack, now want Parliament to play a more active role in holding Israel accountable.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member of Parliament (MP) Nazier Paulsen said that apartheid may be over in South Africa, but the law was still needed.
"We did not replace it with an anti-apartheid bill to ensure that acts of apartheid are punished. So that bill will allow us even to prosecute South Africans that serve in the Israeli occupation forces."
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said a committee must be constituted to make recommendations, which may include directives around trade and sanctions against Israel.