The Apartheid Committee in South Africa launched a global movement to combat apartheid practiced by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories, at the conclusion of the popular conference hosted by the city of Pretoria on November 28 and 29, coinciding with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People called for by the United Nations.

The closing statement of a series of discussion sessions said that South Africa's official launch of the anti-apartheid movement represented "a historic moment filled with pride and commitment to the global struggle against racism, colonialism, exploitation and dehumanization."

The statement added that "this event constitutes a firm stand by South Africa against the Israeli apartheid settler regime and genocide against the Palestinian people."

This global movement draws its inspiration from the legacy of South Africa's struggle against apartheid, and aims to mobilize a broad coalition of societal forces to oppose apartheid in Palestine and call for the complete isolation of Israel.

Commitment to justice

The Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Anti-Apartheid Movement, Rev. Frank Chikane, said that the South African government has taken action against the genocidal practices committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, which have extended to the West Bank. We need to do everything possible to stop this genocide.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Shikane added that we in South Africa (government and people) believe in the justice of the Palestinian cause, which is why we were present at the International Court of Justice. In fact, "we have no choice, because if there is injustice practiced against anyone in the world, including the Palestinians, we will stand by them."

The head of the steering committee of the apartheid movement welcomed the recent decision of the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, saying that "the decision of the ICC came to clarify its position on the genocide committed by Israel, as it has always been accused of acting only against Africans, or if it is related to the enemies of the West, as they did with Russian President Vladimir Putin."

Global movement

“The genocide against Palestinians and Israel’s impunity must end, and we actively extend our solidarity to the Palestinians who continue to endure unimaginable injustice. Together we demand accountability, justice and freedom from apartheid, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean,” Shikani said at the conclusion of the conference.

The conference statement also stressed that the launch of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa ignites the spark for other countries to follow the same path in building momentum that will lead to a global movement.

The General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Rev. Mzwandidi Molo, called on religious communities to join in this movement. He said: “As the South African Council of Churches, we know the tragedy of racism and the value of global solidarity as our religious leaders have called for in the past.”

“Israel’s disproportionate violence, which has reduced the small area of Gaza – home to 2.5 million Palestinians – to rubble with heavy artillery, munitions and unacceptable shelling, bears the hallmarks of genocide as defined by international law. We therefore call for an end to Israel’s genocide and its destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, universities, churches and mosques,” he added.

Agenda

The conference resulted in the formation of working groups to organize its outcomes more effectively and ensure that measures are taken to ensure the implementation of the agenda that the conference participants called for, including:

• Stop arming genocide.
• Ban on trade with the apartheid regime.
• Activate the boycott weapon.
• End the genocide of children.
• Ending ecocide.
• Confronting Zionist propaganda and promoting the Palestinian narrative.
• Punishing the Zionist project legally and diplomatically.
• Supporting Palestinian prisoners and their families.

As part of the apartheid launch conference, simultaneous peaceful protests were held in front of the US Embassy in Pretoria as well as at US consulates in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.

The statement issued by the conference indicated that these protests represent "a means of putting pressure on those governments that support and finance the acts of violence carried out by Israel."

It is noteworthy that during the period from 10 to 12 May, the city of Johannesburg hosted the activities of the World Conference against Israeli Apartheid in Palestine, which called at the time for launching a global movement to dismantle the Israeli settler colonialism and apartheid system, "and also authorized the state of South Africa to stop those leading the genocide in Gaza," according to Shikani.