The Palestinian people will forever deserve our unwavering solidarity for freedom
Wednesday 29 November 2017 will be the 40th
anniversary of the declaration of the International Day of Solidarity
with the Palestinian people. It will be the 70th anniversary of
Resolution 181-2 and the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War. As we
commemorate these anniversaries, we must ask ourselves as a people who
suffered oppression and as an international community, whether what we
are paying to the people of Palestine is mere lip service.
Resolution
181-2. This is one of the many resolutions adopted by the United
Nations but violated by the State of Israel. In sum, the resolution
adopted a plan for the partitioning of the land of Palestine into the
Jewish State of Israel and the Arab State of Palestine. The plan also
suggested a special recognition of the city of Jerusalem which would
serve as a capital for both the Israeli and Palestinian states.
The
resolution was adopted in 1947. Thirty years later, in 1977, the United
Nations General Assembly adopted the International Day of Solidarity
with the Palestinian people on the day that Resolution 181-2 was
adopted, 29 November. The Assembly did so because it recognised that 30
years later, Palestinians were nowhere close to having a state of their
own. In fact, 10 years after the Six-Day War of 1967, the lot of
Palestinians was worse and Israel continued to violate international
law.
Wednesday 29
November 2017 will be the 40th anniversary of the declaration of the
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people. It will be
the 70th anniversary of Resolution 181-2 and the 50th anniversary of the
Six-Day War. The Six-Day War itself had direct devastating effects as,
among others, Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank while
over 300,000 Palestinians fled the West Bank. Israel continues to occupy
the territories, again, in violation of international law.
As
we commemorate these anniversaries, we must ask ourselves, as a people
who suffered oppression, and as an international community, whether what
we are paying to the people of Palestine is mere lip service. We must
use this day of solidarity to make bold once again the assertion by Tata
Madiba that South Africa will not be free until Palestine is free.
In
his address at the state banquet hosting President Yasser Arafat, the
late former President Nelson Mandela noted the supporting role played by
Palestinians towards the liberation of the people of South Africa
despite not possessing freedom themselves. This recognition was
important, alluded Madiba, as it showed the immense sacrifices that
Palestinians made, even placing the liberation of others above their
own.
In
that same tribute to President Arafat, Tata Madiba went on to state
that: “… South Africa is proud to be part of the international consensus
affirming the right of Palestine to self-determination and statehood…”
Yet despite these long years and anniversaries, Palestinians are nowhere
near to attaining justice and the right to self-determination.
Instead,
Israel has continued to violate international law, occupation continues
and the brutality of the Israeli system of oppression has, rightly,
been likened to apartheid. Today, there should be no doubt that Israel
is an apartheid state and in the words of former Israeli Prime Minister,
Ehud Barak, it is fast turning into a tyrannical, fascist one.
Despite
the resolve of the Israelis and the friends in the West and, sadly,
East to ensure that the quest of Palestinians is drowned out by
smokescreens such as the threat Iran poses, as South Africans we must
use our international muscle and clout to guarantee that we will keep
Palestine firmly on the international agenda.
While
the Obama administration abandoned the peace process and while the
Trump administration kowtows to the whims of the Netanyahu regime, we
must position ourselves in order to ensure the correction of this
historical injustice despite the time that has elapsed. Now more than
ever, we must ensure that the Palestinian people receive support and
encouragement during this time of marginalisation.
The
National Policy Conference of the ANC in July this year, in preparation
for the National Conference in December, was emphatic about the support
that the ANC continues towards Palestine. The ANC reaffirmed its
“unwavering steadfast commitment” towards Palestinians but expressed its
disappointment in Israel’s lack of commitment towards peace.
After
debating the possibility of downgrading our embassy in Israel, the
National Policy Conference recommended two options of proposals which
the 54th National Conference must consider and decide upon. First, we
downgrade our embassy in Israel based on the continuous violation of
international law and UN resolutions by the Israelis and the ongoing
building of settlements in the Occupied Territories. The second option
is to shut down our embassy completely, taking or not taking into
account the associated risks.
As
the ANC therefore prepares for its National Conference, South Africa’s
future relations with Israel hangs in the balance and rightly so. For
over two decades, South Africa has pleaded with Israelis and worked with
them, together with local groups, to ensure that injustices do not
continue. Yet these have gone on unabated and Palestinians are
continually denied the right to return and to declare a state with East
Jerusalem as its capital.
At
the same time, the ANC has also noted the importance of ensuring that
Palestinian unity remains a priority as the fight for liberation and
justice is intensified. The ANC’s historical relationship with the
Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and, in particular, Fatah,
must not be compromised through its engagement with Hamas. In fact,
evidence already suggests that Palestinians recognise the urgent need,
given the current cooling down on the international front of issues
pertaining to their plight, to unite. The ANC certainly would support
any initiative that unites Hamas, Fatah and the larger PLO formation.
The
Policy Conference went on to propose that the National Conference adopt
a resolution whereby a Global Solidarity Conference on Palestine,
consisting of the liberation movements of Palestine and all other
progressive international organisations who support the liberation of
the Palestinian people, are invited. It is in this respect that the
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian peoples becomes
pertinent.
This
particular sentiment was expressed by the former president of the ANC,
Comrade OR Tambo, and it is fitting, as we close the year in which we
celebrated his centenary, to be reminded of his words, when, sharing the
stage with Yasser Arafat, he said:
“… the
unconditional upholding of the right of the Palestinian people to
self-determination must be an essential condition for a comprehensive
settlement of the Middle East conflict, including Israeli withdrawal
from occupied Arab territories and the security of all states in the
region, including the state of Israel.”
There
will be no peace in the Middle East, no secure and prosperous Israel,
without a secure and prosperous Palestine. No justice, no peace. DM
Jessie Duarte is Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC
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