South Africa has lent its voice to the violence in Jerusalem, strongly condemning the Israeli attacks on Palestinians last week. 

A statement released by the Presidency on Monday describes the violence as humiliating, alluding that the situation is a reminder of South Africa’s struggle with forced removals and land dispossession. 

The statement reads in part; 

“The escalating situation in Israel and Palestine affirms once more what we South Africans know too well, that intractable conflicts can only be solved through peaceful negotiation.  

“It also demonstrates that unless the root causes of a conflict are addressed, in this case the illegal occupation by Israel of Palestinian land and the denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, there will never be peace.” 

The President, Cyril Ramaphosa, notes that South Africa is still seeing the effects of apartheid spatial planning, and the violence carried out on the people of Palestine echoes South Africa’s history.   

The statement further accuses Israel of violating international law, ignoring the multiple calls for an end to the violence by the  United Nations Security Council (UNSC). It suggests the violence be resolved through dialogue between both countries.

This statement comes as demonstrations held on Saturday, with South Africans protesting in solidarity with Palestine on Saturday to mark Nakba Day, or Catastrophe Day — 73 years of Palestinian occupation – and demanded the government cut ties with Israel.

Motorcades filled with supporters drove through Johannesburg to a rallying point with chants of “Free, free Palestine,” while some waved signs and Palestinian flags. There were also protests in the capital, Pretoria, and the eastern town of Port Elizabeth. 

The violence being witnessed came as Israeli security forces launched assaults on worshippers at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem last week, the violence has now spread across the Gaza Strip, large parts of the West Bank and a number of Israeli cities