The South African government has expressed dismay and outrage at the recent twin suicide bombings by Palestinians in Israel, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
The explosions that left 10 civilians dead in the southern Israeli port of Ashdod on Sunday were caused by two 18-year-old bombers from the Jabalya refugee camp.
They were the first Palestinians from Gaza to carry out a suicide attack on Israeli soil since the start of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000.
Major questions were being asked about how the two could make their way through tight security into a heavily-guarded site deep in Israel where toxic material was stored.
The attack has scuttled a long-awaited summit between the Palestinian and Israeli prime ministers. Israel said the summit had been ”postponed indefinitely”.
The South African government has also strongly condemned the subsequent incursions by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) into the occupied territories.
Israeli helicopters fired a dozen rockets at targets in Gaza City Sunday night in apparent retaliation for suicide bombings, Palestinian officials said on Monday.
The military helicopters attacked targets in central and east Gaza City, which led to power cuts. A 27-year-old Palestinian was killed in the attacks.
”Violence and counter-violence cannot be in the best interests of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians who yearn for peace,” said Deputy Foreign Affairs minister, Aziz Pahad in a statement.
He said the South African government reiterates its view that there can never be a military solution to the political challenges facing Palestinians and Israelis.
”Acts of violence and counter-violence have reached alarming proportions and there is an urgency for both parties to meet in order to break the current impasse. This is the only way in which to stem an ever increasing spiral of violence,” he said. – Sapa