South African organisations on Tuesday added their voices to the international outcry over Israel’s attack on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
“We need to do to Israel what the world did to apartheid in South Africa,” Salim Vally, chairperson of the Palestine Solidarity Committee of South Africa, told the Mail & Guardian. “Boycott, recall the South African ambassador to Tel Aviv, and expel the Israeli ambassador.”
According to a statement on Tuesday by the United Nations, at least 10 people died in the raid. These people, said Vally, have made “the ultimate sacrifice”. He added: “In their memory, we cannot allow the state of Israel to commit such crimes.”
Vally told the M&G that in light of recent exposçs of Israel’s nuclear weapon negotiations with apartheid South Africa, the state of Israel has been shown to be a “threat to the world”.
‘Regrettable’
South African Zionist Federation chairperson Avrom Krengel told the M&G that the incident was “unfortunate and entirely regrettable”.
But he said that the aid ships were given the option of transporting their supplies through “normal channels”.
Humanitarian aid bound for Gaza enters Israel daily through border crossings, but aid organisations claim that the amounts allowed in are too low for reconstruction efforts after the offensive 18 months ago.
The ships attempting to reach Gaza directly were “a provocation” that intended “to create conflict”, Krengel added.
He also criticised the South African government for acting “in a biased manner” in condemning the raid, and dismissed the UN Security Council’s statement “as expected”.
According to an official statement released on Monday by nine South African civil society organisations, including the South African Council of Churches, the Muslim Judicial Council and the Palestine Solidarity Movement in South Africa, the flotilla was “attempting to break the siege” by sailing directly to Gaza.
Israel’s raid was a “flagrant violation of international maritime law” because it occurred in international waters, the statement added.