By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) dismissed reports that Minister Naledi Pandor offered her support to the attacks by Hamas on Israel during a phone call with the group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh.
More than one million people have been displaced in the region, the UN said after sustained Israeli bombardment and warnings about a ground attack against Hamas commanders.
In a statement, the department said the minister received a request to call Haniyeh to discuss the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The call came some 11 days after the Palestinian militants burst through Israel’s heavily fortified Gaza border, shooting, stabbing and burning to death more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.
Shell-shocked Israel has responded with withering air strikes that have killed more than 2,700 people, mainly civilians. It has also imposed a crippling siege on Gaza and deployed tens of thousands of troops to the border in preparation for a full-scale ground offensive.
The department’s spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, said during the call, Pandor reiterated South Africa’s solidarity and support for the people of Palestine and expressed sadness and regret for the loss of innocent lives, both Palestinians and Israelis.
“Pandor and the Hamas leader discussed how to get the necessary humanitarian aid to Gaza and other parts of the Palestinian Territories.
“The reports that Pandor also offered support for the ‘Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood’ are untrue and meant to impugn the minister and the government of South Africa. Minister Pandor’s call with the Hamas leader is in line with South Africa’s readiness to engage all interlocutors as part of facilitating dialogue to end the ongoing conflict.
“South Africa, therefore, calls on all sides to seize the opportunity for peace as opposed to violence and for the international community to actively advocate for the implementation of its own International resolutions and establish a credible peace process.
“South Africa stands ready to share its experience in mediation and conflict resolution as it has done on the continent and around the world,” added Monyela.
Pandor meanwhile said that the humanitarian aid is being prevented from reaching those devastated by the bombing.
“We now learn, that Israel is preventing any aid from getting through and is actually attacking humanitarian aid transport. This is absolutely shocking and there really can be no defence for such conduct.
“It is a total breach of humanitarian law and international human rights law and I am hoping that we are going to put forward a case to the ICC (International Criminal Court), all of us as humanity, as this constitutes a war crime and should be pursued by the ICC, “Pandor said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday evening, condemned the brutal killing of civilians by Hamas during his closing address to the ANC’s national executive committee.
“The ANC NEC has condemned, in strongest terms, the brutal killing of civilians by Hamas. The ANC has also been perturbed by the genocidal and atrocious activities of the State of Israel, which are being directed indiscriminately at Palestinian citizens, shutting them off from all means of livelihoods,” Ramaphosa said.
“On Saturday, we conveyed our condolences to the affected citizens on both sides of the of conflict and called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to negotiations along the lines of the two-solution.
“The NEC reaffirms the longstanding support for and solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine and calls for an end to the occupation of Palestine, which is against UN resolutions. The state of Israel should immediately end the siege on GAZA so that water, food, energy, medical supplies and fuel can reach the civilians”, Ramaphosa added.