Demonstration in Cape Town brings together several pro-Palestinian organizations, political parties, religious
\n CAPE TOWN
\nMore than 3,000 people marched through Cape Town on Saturday, calling for South Africa to cut trade and diplomatic ties with Israel, including by shutting its embassy, over the war in Gaza.
\nPretoria has been a leading critic of Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza, bringing a case before the UN\u2019s top court in December 2023 that argues Israel\u2019s war in the Palestinian territory amounts to genocide, a charge Israel has denied.
\nSaturday\u2019s demonstration brought together several pro-Palestinian organizations, political parties, and Muslim and Christian groups, marking one of the largest such turnouts in months.
\nWaving Palestinian flags and slogans such as \u201cDon\u2019t just feel bad, do something,\u201d the procession handed over a petition of demands at parliament.
\nSouth Africa must \u201cboycott, divest and sanction Israel, the same way as the world did for us,\u201d said Palestine Solidarity Campaign coordinator, Usuf Chikte, referring to international measures used to pressure South Africa\u2019s apartheid regime.
\nThe government has to take action on the \u201ckicking out of Israel\u2019s ambassador and embassy from South Africa now,\u201d and the country should be excluded from international sporting bodies such as FIFA, he told the crowd. The petition also demanded that the government suspend its exports of coal to Israel and prosecute any South Africans who enlist in the Israeli military.
\nThe war in Gaza broke out after militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel\u2019s retaliatory military offensive has since killed at least 65,926 people.
\nHamas said a mass walkout of delegations before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s speech at the UN showed Israel\u2019s \u201cisolation\u201d as a result of the Gaza war.
\n\u201cBoycotting Netanyahu\u2019s speech is one manifestation of Israel\u2019s isolation and the consequences of the war of extermination,\u201d Taher Al-Nunu, the media adviser to the head of Hamas\u2019s political bureau, said in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Demonstration in Cape Town brings together several pro-Palestinian organizations, political parties, religious CAPE TOWN More than 3,000 people marched through Cape Town on Saturday, calling for South Africa to cut trade and diplomatic ties with Israel, including by shutting its embassy, over the war in Gaza. Pretoria has been a leading critic of Israel\u2019s actions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505601,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-505575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n