ANC GAUTENG CALLS FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR PALESTINIAN PEOPLE OF GAZA IN GAUTENG LEGISLATURE

Members of the media are hereby invited to the next sitting of the Gauteng Legislature tomorrow (22 July 2014 at 09:00), where the ANC in Gauteng will propose a motion for all Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPL’s) to observe a moment of silence in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

We join other progressive voices, organizations and peoples around the world who have condemned the barbaric and senseless massacre of the innocent, especially children by the government of Israel in the occupied Gaza Strip.

We call on all South Africans: Black, White, Jewish, Muslim, Christian and all others to join us in expressing our solidarity with the people of occupied Palestine.

The recent marches and pickets around the world led by various groups such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement calling for the immediate end of Israeli violence remind us of the international solidarity against apartheid which we witnessed during our own national oppression.

We are also reminded that the Palestinians supported us "to the hilt" as Tata Madiba put it in 1990, when many others shunned us during the early days of the anti-Apartheid movement.

Our strong condemnation of Israel’s violent aggression doesn’t imply approval of the firing of projectiles into Israel. We are calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories and a just two-state solution, which guarantees land and security for all in the region.

The ANC in Gauteng reiterates the position of the ANC Caucus in Parliament who said on Friday: "As one of the measures to put pressure on Israel, we are of a firm view that our government must recall our ambassador to Israel and also ask the Israel ambassador to South African to leave with immediate effect."

In tomorrow’s act of solidarity by the ANC in Gauteng, we believe strongly that Palestinians should, like all free people, enjoy the full measure of human and political rights and the right to determine their own destiny.

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For media enquiries please contact Nkenke Kekana on 082 900 0096 or email media@ancgauteng.org.za

NOTES TO THE EDITOR:

ANC Gauteng is the provincial body of the African National Congress (ANC) - a national liberation movement.

ANC Gauteng is managed by the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) that is elected at a Provincial Conference every four years by the representatives of the branches in the province.