I hope all of you present here who come from many different countries have written to your foreign ministers to ask them how they voted on the resolution on membership of the United Nations for Palestine and to also tell them you expect that when that resolution comes to the general assembly they will vote Yes for membership write to your foreign minister find out how they are acting in the Halls where it matters the activism you have committed to by being present here means that you are aware of everything means that you write on everything means that you petition on everything you do not secure Victory by sitting in a conference room you secure Victory by action all of us as Humanity should be ashamed today that 35,000 plus people have died and here we are sitting while more are killed maybe if we could find a way we should all go to Palestine and be the wall of protection of Civilian people there can never be peace if the Palestinian people are not free [Applause] here's a reminder to please like and share the video and subscribe to our channel to watch more videos on Africa's geopolitics economy and changing landscape we have decided to bring videos on something nobody talks about African politics economy and increasing power let's continue now [Applause] the United Nations General Assembly as well as the UN Security Council are obliged to heed the compelling evidence presented by Amnesty International other human rights organizations as well as the evidence presented in our own case as South Africa at the international court of justice and these multilateral bodies should hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people the reports from these organizations shine a clear spotlight on Israeli laws and practices that warrant scrutiny and appropriate action the national laws passed by the Israeli government are clear evidence that the government is set on maintaining Israel as an apartate State since 1948 Palestinians have endured ethnic cleansing the knba of force dis placement and Exile the denial of their right to return and an ongoing process of domination foreign occupation annexation population transfer and settler colonialism I was amazed when a South African political party leader said you cannot in his view deem Israel an aparted State because there was no uh reflection of apartate practices in Israel I wondered where he lives in this world because all these elements I've spoken to were present under apartate We Gather here today just before May 15 the date when we will com we always commemorate nakba day which in history marked the beginning of The NeverEnding struggle for Independence for the Palestinian people and the beginning of the denial of their rights as laid down by International covenants such as the universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international Covenant on civil and political rights we also meet importantly on the day 30 years ago when President Mandela was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of South Africa and I believe uh when President uhi was inaugurated as the first democratically elected Deputy president of South [Applause] Africa the nakba involved a combination Naka means catastrophe it involved a com ation of mass murder forc displacement of thousands of Palestinians by Zionist militia to replace them with Jewish immigrants and create what is known today as the state of Israel we are now witnessing what we have coined as nakb in Gaza this conference provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate solidarity with the people of Palestine and to collectively acknowledge the fact that they are still deprived of many rights including the right to self-determination and the right to Independence the policies and legislation of Israel have been shaped by an overarching objective to maintain a Jewish demographic majority and maximize Jewish Israeli control over the land to to the detriment of Palestinians we wish to emphasize that as South Africa this situation has to be brought to a change and only we gathered as a collective can help bring about this change you all know the directives of the current Israeli government that was formed in December 2022 that it explicitly declared that the Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the land of Israel and it pledged further to promote and develop settlements in all parts of the land of Israel in the Galilee the neev the golen heights Judea and Samaria and the trans transfer of the administrative powers of the occupation to the Israeli government and the extension of direct civil legal authority over the settlements this amounts to full dejur annexation of the occupied territories in recent months Israeli officials and settler movements have been calling for resettling of Northern Gaza and places that the Israeli Army has destroyed during its ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip we need to stress that there can be no solution to the situation for as long as the International Community continues to ignore Israel's systematic human rights transgressions and settler Colonial apartate project and through it sustains the the illegal Israeli Colonial settler project at the cost of Palestinian Liberation on the 21st of August in 2022 we and Palestine launched a strategic dialogue with the intention of mobilizing African countries to support Palestine and to enhance bilateral relations with Palestine on the continent the other objective was to exchange views based on the the South African experience that will assist to end Israeli domination in Palestinian territories as well as to support Palestine in raising International Awareness on the plight of their people particularly the expansion of illegal settlements by Israel as South Africa we actively lobbied for the withdrawal of Israel as an observer member of the African Union and we will continue our efforts towards support for a two-state solution and the right to self-determination and I must in talking about the Au battle uh that we have to wage I must thank Namibia and Algeria for their [Applause] support it was was very lonely but we did it we will also as South Africa continue to support Palestinian efforts for membership of the United Nations and the creation of positive credible and Lasting International mechanisms to address the Palestinian cause based on international law I hope all of you present here who come from many many different countries have written to your foreign ministers to ask them how they voted on the resolution on membership of the United Nations for Palestine and to also tell them you expect that when that resolution comes to the general assembly they will vote Yes for membership write to your foreign ministers find out how they are acting in the Halls where it matters the activism you have committed to by being present here means that you are aware of everything means that you write on everything means that you petition on everything you do not secure Victory by sitting in a conference room you secure Victory by action and we expect that of you we support all calls for action against Israel's settler Colonial aparted regime including calls that third states must take steps toward completely decolonizing Palestine this has to involve the dismantling of all structures of domination exploitation and oppression and the real realization of the rights of Palestinian people rights of freedom and democracy that all of us Love and Enjoy so much we also would want that they should be able to return to their homes have their lands once more and have their properties return to them third States need to recognize and condemn including through Regional and international organizations Israel's discriminatory laws policies and practices which have cumul cumulatively established and continue to maintain an apartate regime of systemic racial oppression and domination over the Palestinian people member states of the UN General Assembly should adopt a resolution in our view to reconstitute the United Nations special Committee Against apartate and reestablish the United Nations Center against apartate to address Israeli authori Commission of crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people and to empower these bodies to proactively pursue the dismantlement of Israel's settler Colonial apartate regime we would also like to see the office of the prosecutor of the international criminal court expedite the current investigation into the situation in Palestine including into war crimes and crimes against humanity comprising the crimes of apartate of population transfer of appropriation and destruction of property of pillage of persecution of willful killing of murder and torture carried out on the Palestinian territory as South Africa we remain committed to ending impunity for war crimes crimes against humanity and genocide the situation in Palestine should be prioritized by the ICC in order to deliver Justice to the victims of these grave crimes our country is among the countries that made presentations from 19th to 26th February this year at the international court of justice public hearings following the request for an advisory opinion in respect of the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian Terr territory including East Jerusalem we made our presentation on the 20th of February this year and in our presentation we told the court that Israel is responsible for apartate against Palestinians and its occupation is inherently and fundamentally illegal and by implication it is in violation of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination it's encouraging for us to note that the majority of countries that are supporting the Palestinian cause hold a position that by transferring parts of its civilian population into the occupied territories Israel violated article 496 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits occupying powers from deporting or transfer ing parts of their civilian population into the territory they occupy it also prohibits the individual or mass forcable transfers as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory this of course reaffirms the international Court's advisory opinion on the West Bank wall now that the hearings have con concluded the judges will review all the arguments presented including 57 written submissions and will provide an advisory opinion in a few months there must be I repeat again concerted International efforts to bring about a just solution to the question of Palestine this will provide the Palestinian people with their right to self-determination and independent statehood and also ultimately contribute to the establishment of Peace in the region there can never be peace if the Palestinian people are not [Applause] free so it's imperative for us to revitalize International action and seek having use for justice we must intensify the call for international action with the UN playing a leading role to find a solution premised on a just settlement with just laws that are rights based we must as the International Community seek a solution which facilitates equality and equity for all who have the right to live in the territories of Israel and Palestine in the absence of these we will not achieve the objectives we wish finally the South African government will continue to act within the institutions of global governance to protect the rights including the fundamental right to life of Palestinians in Gaza which continue to remain at risk including from the continuing Israeli military assault from starvation and disease and we hope to work to obtain the fair and equal application of international law to all in the interests of our Collective Humanity all of us as Humanity should be ashamed today that 35,000 plus people have died and here we are sitting while more are killed maybe if we could find a way we should all go to Palestine and be the wall of protection of Civilian [Applause] people as the government of South [Music] Africa well I can't quite hear what you're saying but as the government of South Africa as well as no you're not helping but you're not helping by shouting me down it's not useful as the government of South Africa as well as the governing party the African National Congress we will continue to do everything within our power to preserve the existence of the Palestinian people as a group to end all acts of apartate and genocide against the Palestinian people and to walk with them if they wish toward the realization of their Collective right to self-d deter mination we will continue to do so following in the steps of our great president and founding president of our democracy president Nelson Mandela and we will not rest as we follow his instruction that our freedom will not be complete until the freedom of the people of Palestine is realized on behalf of President Raposa I thank you for listening to these remarks and I wish you success in your [Applause] deliberations thank you very much Ma thank you that was profound um before you sit down we have a friend from Palestine who represents the kyos Palestinians they need to say a word of thank you to you just a minute good morning your Excellency Dr Pandora representing his Excellency president trosa on behalf of the Palestinian people and the Free World I would like to express our great appreciation for South Africa's great and exceptional support to the Palestinian people to and to Gaza we have no better friends in the world today than our South African friends and to Simply say thank you feels inadequate in Christmas I challenge the world to look in the mirror and ask ask where were you when Gaza was going through a genocide I know where South Africa was and I know where your amazing courageous lawyers were you embody the term costly solidarity and we know that the icj case did not come without cost but let us be honest no one is more deserving and rightly positioned for such a step more than South Africa during a war that has revealed to the world the hypocrisy and racism of the Western World you stood with moral integrity and credibility to lead our world and take not just Israel to to the trial but the hypocrisy and racism of the West you have been through colonialism and apartheid and you have overcome it and with your help and support and with God's help we will overcome our own colon iism and apari so today we say to the people and political and Faith leaders in South Africa thank you thank you for your leadership thank you for your courage and integrity thank you for standing for truth and thank you of course to all those all over the world in the streets in mosques in churches and synagogues and today in universities who stand for justice freedom and human dignity your Excellency please accept a very symbolic gift but it's a symbolic act from us as a token of love unity and solidarity the kofia and I know that everyone in South Africa seems to be wearing a cofia but there is symbolism in what I'm going to do to take the cofia from a shoulder of a Palestinian and place it on the shoulder of a South African leader and acknowledge that today you carry our cross with us upon your shoulders [Applause] do you think more Nations should also show courage like South Africa did are you proud of South Africa's actions why did other nations that speak more of Human Rights fail to take this basic step let us know in the comments section if only African nations have taken the Palestine matter seriously do you want to watch more videos like this one if yes subscribe to our Channel and press the Bell icon next to it we have decided to bring videos on something nobody talks about African politics economy and increasing power thanks for watching and until the next video stay tuned tell us what you think in the comment section like and share the video and subscribe so that 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