The SA Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released this statement condemning Israel's military incursion into Gaza.
| The South African Government condemns the Israeli Government's policy of collective punishment as a direct violation of International Law. |
The South African government did however reiterate their position on the two state solution.
| The South African Government is of the view that peace can only be achieved through a negotiated settlement, based on a two-State solution that provides for a sovereign Palestinian State and guarantees the right of Israel to live within secure borders. |
The statement did not condemn the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier nor did it condemn the continuous firing of Qassam rockets into Israel from territory which Israel had 10 months earlier withdrawn from.
Furthermore, the statement describes the Palestinian acceptance of the 'prisoners plan' as 'historic' and as 'a major step forward' which opened up 'real possibilities of ending violence and finding a two-state solution'.
The first draft of the prisoners plan which Hamas refused to accept called for the limitation of the use of violence to the 'territories occupied in 1967'. That statement was removed from the final draft which Hamas accepted - in other words contrary to Ronnie Mamoepa's statement, the 'prisoners plan' rather than ending violence actually condones the use of violence.
A statement issued in an alternative universe would have read (I have replaced parts of the actual statement with the parts in green)
The abduction of an Israeli soldier and killing of two others as well as the barrage of Qassam rockets fired indiscriminately into Israel come at a time when Israeli plans to withdraw from settlements in the West Bank were gaining momentum. It also comes months after the historic Israeli withdrawal from the entire Gaza strip. This was a major step forward and opened up real possibilities of ending violence and finding a two-state solution. |
That's a great statement, you should've continued, and sent it to someone. Under the heading "Proposed ammendments to the SA Statement on ..." I think it would be a hit, even in the M&G :)
Posted by: Derikboy | July 12, 2006 at 09:16
You forgot to mention the abduction and murder of the settler by Hamas in the West Bank
Posted by: Anti-UN | July 12, 2006 at 11:24
Allister Sparks reached a new low today even for him in the Cape Times quite openly and unashamedly comparing Hamas to the ANC in exile, fighting the apartheid govt (that's Israel see) - no kidding. Haniyeh is seen as a man to negotiate with, a man wanting peace, unlike evil Israel. It is an article so loathsome that it outPilgers Pilger and outFisks Fisk. The Cape Times and Sparks are now quite OPENLY AND UNAMBIGUOUSLY SUPPORTIVE OF HAMAS. This cannot be allowed to rest and 'More than Supernatural' must not just blog on this, letters to the CT are not enough, this is the last straw.
If this does not stir the SA JBD into a statement condemning Sparks and the CT then absolutely nothing will (I'm starting to think the CT and other SA media will be serialising the Protocols of Zion soon enough, and the Jewish Post would just shrug and ignore it).
Guys, you must contact Goldstein and others the JBD and whoever else - they must come out with a lengthy statement here pulling no punches re Sparks. This is abominable, we must do more!
Posted by: Lawrence | July 12, 2006 at 12:12
Good post. However, we here are getting used to that kind of noise. Unfortunately.
Best.
Posted by: SnoopyTheGoon | July 12, 2006 at 12:49
Lawrence, I feel your frustration - trust me.
I wish I had more time to post but i have been very busy at work - that's not the only ridiculous article that I need to post on.
(This is just a part time hobby that Mike and myself do and we have no connection with any official Jewish bodies in SA so its not worth our while to contact anyone. Our goal is to alert people like you and inspire you to contact these people and to write sensible and responsible letters to the media etc etc)
On the Sparks article - check tomorrow for part 2 (the Star, Cape Time and other papers in the Independent group). But you know what to expect coming from a man in love with the romantic Hamas leadership.
We have taken Sparks to task before. Here's a search for Sparks on IAS.
What irritates me is how he compares the situation without providing reason for the comparison. he says "Thabo Mbeki who was also viewed as a 'terrorist'" - or something to that effect.
Just because the Apartheid government were wrong in calling President Mbeki a terrorist does not mean that that label is wrong wherever it is applied. Yet he expects his readers to buy into that non argument.
Posted by: Steve | July 12, 2006 at 14:39
It is actually so depresssing and demoralizing the volume of anti-Israel hate speech in the media , both in SA and abroad , with virtually nothing to balnce it out.
Not only do we have several billion Muslims out to anihilate Israel we also have millions and millions of leftists around the world who would like to see Israel destroyed , and thousands of them are prominent figures in the media , academia and politics.
The Jews only have one country and it is the size of the Kruger National Park , but that is still too [email protected]#$^ much for so many people.
Posted by: Gary | July 12, 2006 at 17:15