Activists urge S. Africa to recall envoy from Israel

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) – Palestinian activists in South Africa have urged their government to recall its envoy from Israel after the country blocked aid to Senegal for supporting a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution condemning Israeli settlements.

“We call on the South African government to condemn the Israeli intimidation of a fellow African Union member and extend support to the Senegalese government and people,” the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said in a statement to Anadolu Agency late on Monday.

Senegal was one of four co-sponsors of a resolution passed Friday by the UNSC condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as illegal.

The Palestinian support group said although Israel did not receive support from any UNSC member, it responded in typical bullying style, reserving its greatest anger for Senegal.

Fourteen out of the 15 states in the UNSC voted to condemn Israeli settlements but the United States abstained.

The PSC said Israel has a number of agricultural and other projects in Senegal which will be affected by its decision.

“It is clear, and the global Palestine solidarity movement has emphasized for decades, that Israel’s ‘aid’ to African states is not philanthropic but is a matter of opportunistic leverage,” the group claimed.

The activists also alleged a recent visit by Israel’s prime minister to some East African countries was meant to woo their support for Israel to obtain observer status at the African Union and buy their support at the UN.

“As the case of Senegal indicates, the purpose of this ‘aid’ is to muscle recipient states to support Israel in whatever ways it wishes,” the PSC said.

- Israeli response

Israel’s ambassador to South Africa, Arthur Lenk, rubbished the activists' claims to Anadolu Agency saying: “Israel’s interactions with Africa is intended to promote mutual interest. Not ‘buy support’ but develop cooperation and mutual understanding.”

The ambassador also said some anti-Israeli lobby groups in South Africa believe that there should be no state of Israel at all.

“Luckily, most people here disagree with their radical views,” he said.

The South African government has yet to respond to the activists' appeal.

However, a sizeable population of South Africans, including the ruling African National Congress, have publicly expressed unwavering support for the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation.

They believe that what is happening to the Palestinians is similar to what happened to them during the racial segregation system known as apartheid which ended in 1994.

South Africa maintains diplomatic relations with both Israel and Palestine.