‘Israeli envoy must go!’
MUHAMMAD Khalid Sayed of the African National Congress Youth League in the Western Cape, has asked that the Israeli ambassador to South Africa, Arthur Lenk, to leave the country.
“We call upon Ambassador Lenk to pack his bags and prepare to leave to avoid unnecessary trauma. We are also of the view that our government must recall our ambassador, Sisa Ngombane, from Israel.”
Sayed said the league wanted Lenk to return to his home country due to the massacre that Israeli forces were inflicting on Palestinian civilians.
“We also want Ngombane to head back to South Africa as we need to cut links completely with Israel.”
Israel has been attacking the Gaza Strip in Palestine for the past two weeks, with the use of air strikes, shelling and extreme force.
So far, more than 580 Palestinians have died and more than 200 been injured, most of them women and children.
Twenty-seven Israeli soldiers have died and two Israeli civilians.
Sayed said Israel’s offensive on Palestine was sheer brutality.
“This is not a war. It is a massacre of an ethnic group and is nothing short of absolute thuggery. We, as the ANCYL, cannot remain silent or only issue press statements.”
Instead he wants to see South Africa follow the example of the international community during apartheid when it took extreme action to express the illegitimacy of the system in the form of sanctions and isolation.
“Israel needs to be completely isolated from the global community as they have been treating the people of Gaza inhumanely. The Gaza strip is similar to a prison because the Israeli army and navy have been occupying the area since 1967.”
He said the residents of Gaza could not leave as they did not have passports, nor could people enter the area without Israel’s permission.
The Department of International Relations and Co-Operation (DIRCO) in South Africa has asked Lenk to inform his government about South Africa’s stance regarding the unrest.
DIRCO spokesman Clayson Monyela said: “The South African government has called on the State of Israel to immediately cease its air strikes into the Gaza strip, allow safe and free passage of civilians and make it possible for humanitarian organisations to work on alleviating the suffering of victims of the violence.”
The department’s deputy minister, Nomaindia Mfeketo, has called for immediate genuine talks between Palestine and Israel.
She also supports a halt to construction and expansion of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories by Israel.
On the international front, the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, has labelled Israel’s shelling of the Gaza Strip as an “atrocious action” and called for an immediate end to weeks of fighting.
The International organisation will be sending supplies into Gaza within coming days.
David Jacobson, the executive director in the of the Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies, believes the call by the ANCYL for Lenk to leave South Africa is uncalled for.
“The ANCYL’s focus on removing Lenk is unhelpful, because the focus should be on a ceasefire instead.”
Jacobson added that Israel was defending itself from the terrorist Palestinian organisation, Hamas, therefore it was not doing anything illegal.
However, he acknowledged that what was happening in Palestine was deplorable and regrettable.
The Israeli Embassy could not be reached for comment.