(Parliamentary debate requested by Julius Malema (EFF): Removal of the Israel Embassy in South Africa and suspension of all diplomatic relations with Israel)
The EFF’s request for South Africa to sever all ties with Israel puts government in a difficult position, which is reminiscent of the issue of expropriation without compensation.
In that case, the EFF also took initiative and the ANC simply followed suit. South Africa’s Parliament will vote on whether or not to maintain its ties with Israel next Tuesday and should take the following to heart:
If South Africa were to sever all diplomatic ties with Israel, the country will no longer be able to play any kind of role in the mediation process.
It is also interesting to note that so far, not a single Arab country has suspended its relations with Israel. This includes countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and the UAE.
The ANC argues that the Palestinians are entitled to their own homeland and that cannot be contested. However, the truth of the matter is that the Palestinians have been offered their own, independent country six times since 1937. None of those offers were accepted.
According to reports, Algeria proposed at the recent Arab/Islamic summit that Arab ties with Israel should be severed. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, Mauritania and Djibouti were not in favour of it.
So, clearly South Africa should be very careful not to jump the gun concerning Israel seeing as such a step will have far-reaching consequences for the country.
All six South African diplomats who are posted and working in the Palestinian capital Ramallah live in and around Jerusalem enjoying political immunity and the good graces of Israel.
Should government sever its ties with Israel, these diplomats will no longer be welcome. They will have to relocate to Ramallah and enter the West Bank through Jordan via a border post controlled by Israel. It would simply not be possible.
The reality is that Israel is not dependent on its relationship with South Africa, and South Africa would derive much more benefit from maintaining the relationship between the two countries.
An illustration of this is the boycott actions currently being widely advocated that list Israeli companies and products that ought to be boycotted.
The FF Plus has not seen a list of Palestinian products or companies to take their place, though.
It is opportunistic of the EFF to demand that all ties with Israel should be severed, and it would be short-sighted of the ANC government to do so.
The best decision would be to keep all the channels for dialogue open to try and find solutions in the interest of all the relevant parties.
;
