Johannesburg, May 12 (FN Agency) Several hundred people are participating in a Wednesday march organized in Cape Town in solidarity with the Palestinians, Director of the Africa4Palestine organization, Muhammed Desai, told Sputnik. “… we as South Africans not only lend our solidarity but will be practically mobilizing for our government to take firmer action both locally but also within international forums to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law,” Desai said.
Africa4Palestine, which organized the Wednesday march, has been joined by the South African government, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) left-wing party and other political and civil society organizations in the country, in condemning the killing of Palestinians by Israelis. Desai told Sputnik that Palestinians are choosing to fight on their feet instead of submitting on their knees. Zwelivelile “Mandla” Mandela, tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council and the grandson of South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and first black head of state Nelson Mandela, also participated in the Wednesday protest march in Cape Town.
At the start of this week, a major escalation began at the Gaza border with more than 1,000 rockets fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip since Monday, according to the Israeli army. In response, Israel launched strikes against Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Wednesday that the death toll from the Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip had surpassed 40. Meanwhile the Israeli emergency services have reported several fatalities among the Israelis from attacks launched from the Gaza Strip. The escalation at the Gaza border comes amid unrest in East Jerusalem that has been ongoing for several days over an Israeli court’s decision to evict several Palestinian families from the area. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been injured in clashes with the Israeli forces this month, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.