Unbetitelt

Soon after President Obama took office in 2009, he called on Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze the construction of Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land, a violation of international law and official US policy, in order to facilitate a return to negotiations with the Palestinians. Despite eventually agreeing to a 10-month partial slowdown in some areas, settlements have grown rapidly during Netanyahu’s tenure as prime minister. In 2014 alone, construction in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank rose by 40% according to a report from settlement watchdog Peace Now, which noted that the increase was “a record high for at least a decade.”

Since 1972, the US has vetoed 42 UN Security Council resolutions on behalf of ‎Israel‬, ensuring Israeli officials impunity for their violations of international law. That’s more than half the total number of vetoes the US has issued since the creation of the UN.

Israeli foreign minister and leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Avigdor Lieberman, is notorious for his anti-Arab stances, frequently threatening and raising suspicions about Israel’s Palestinian citizens. In past elections, he has run on campaign slogans such as “No loyalty, no citizenship" and one of his party’s current slogans is “Haneen to Jenin,” referring to Haneen Zoabi, a Palestinian member of the Knesset and Jenin, a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank.

On April 1, Palestine is set to become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which will allow it to file charges against Israel for war crimes, such as the construction of Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

Today, Israel denied the South African education minister entry into Palestine. Standing in solidarity with Palestinians, the education minister stated, “We must boycott Israel.”

A long history of support for Palestine by South Africans exists. Nelson Mandela famously proclaimed, “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians.”