Palestinians want SA’s help in West Bank fight

Senior Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) officials have warned of a possible uprising in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank, while confirming they look to South Africa for guidance and support in their struggle to end Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

“When we were all alone in our struggle against the occupation, it was Nelson Mandela who gave us the courage to continue the fight against the occupation,” said Dr Hanan Ashrawi, PLO’s head of public diplomacy and policy and member of the Palestinian Authority (PA) which nominally controls the West Bank.

“South Africa is uniquely placed to help the Palestinians with their struggle against oppression because of its history and personal struggle for liberation during apartheid,” Ashrawi said on the sidelines of the Brics [Brazil, Russia, India, China, and SA] Political Parties Plus Dialogue in Pretoria this week, which ended on Thursday.

“It also has integrity and is respected internationally.”

PA member and PLO executive committee member Dr Ahmed Majdalani said in addition to political support, South Africa has also provided Palestine with economic support and helped to build state institutions in preparation for its future statehood.

But he warned of impending danger, saying the situation in the West Bank was now extremely dangerous and the possibility of another Palestinian uprising was very real.

The United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (Ocha) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory confirmed that since the beginning of this year, there has been a significant increase in incidents involving the entry of Israeli forces and settlers into Palestinian schools, among other attacks. – ANA