Since Hamas, the Palestinian organisation in charge of the blockaded Gaza Strip attacked Israeli cities on Saturday and kidnapped hundreds of people, over 1000 people have died.

Since then, the UN Security Council (UNSC) held in an emergency meeting amid the conflict between Israel and Gaza, but it was unable to reach the required level of agreement for a joint statement.

Over the years, the ruling party has staged protests in favour of Palestine outside the Israeli embassy in Pretoria.

Jessie Duarte, who was the deputy secretary-general at the time, organised a picket in May 2021 and demanded that Israel “take their knees off the Palestinians” or close its embassy there.

The ruling party wants Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to testify before the ICC over crimes against humanity.

Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, the national spokesperson for the ANC, stated in a statement that it is “unsurprising” that Palestinian communities have chosen to protest the harshness of the colonial Israeli apartheid rule.

“The ANC stands with the people of occupied Palestine as it is clear that the degenerating security situation is directly linked to the unlawful Israeli occupation.

“Israel’s policy of settling its civilians in occupied Palestinian territory and displacing the local population contravenes fundamental rules of international humanitarian law.

“The destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the latest international escalation of violence and conflict in the West Bank. It is yet another instalment of conflict in Israel and occupied Palestine, which has not been met with a credible response by the international community, particularly the United Nations and the International Criminal Court,” says Bhengu-Motsiri.

The ruling party has further called on the United Nations resolutions and international law matters to be affirmed.

“The international community can no longer avoid its duty to act.

The ANC supports calls on all sides to seize the opportunity for peace as an opposite statement and for the international community to actively rise on the side of its international resolutions and establish a credible peace process to bring the realisation of a two state solution based on the 1967 borders, which also consider a right of return for displaced Palestinians.”