Local activists and trade unions have organized protests outside the US consulate in Johannesburg
Hundreds of pro-Palestine South Africans protested outside the US Consulate in Johannesburg on Wednesday, voicing opposition to what they called Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and expressing disapproval of Washington’s decision to send weapons to Israel, which is currently fighting Hamas in Gaza.
Demonstrators were seen waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners that read “Free Palestine.”
Iqbal Jassat, a protester and executive member of the South Africa-based Media Review Network, told Anadolu news agency: “It is insane for the US to be an integral part of Israel’s relentless savagery and brutality while millions of innocent civilians in Gaza are being slaughtered.”
The Israeli center in Cape Town also held a protest of its own, where people called for a cessation of violence.
The administration of US President Joe Biden announced on Saturday that Washington would prepare a package of weapons to aid Israel.
One person at the Johannesburg march told RT that “what’s happening to the Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli and at the aid of Americans and its allies is apartheid.” And according to Lesogo Makhubela, the spokesperson of the African National Congress (ANC), the protesters “want a peaceful end to the conflict in the Middle East.”
He is convinced that the US is “literally financing the suffering of the Palestinians,” motivating people to come out in support of Palestine.
Salim Vally, a human rights activist and protest coordinator, called for the UN to “provide a protection force to support the Palestinians,” adding that “it’s the right of people to resist occupation and resist apartheid.”
According to the Palestinian Association, a local group, another march is slated to be held during the course of the week.
On Thursday, another pro-Palestinian demonstration was held in Tunisia amid the ongoing fighting between Hamas and Israel. Tunisian President Kais Saied announced earlier in the week that he wanted to provide aid by transferring wounded Palestinians to Tunisia.
On Saturday, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’, which involved firing rockets and sending commandos into Israeli territory from Gaza.
Israel said on Thursday that the attack on its territory left at least 1,300 dead, including 222 soldiers. The Palestinian authorities say at least 1,400 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 6,000 injured.
