Meeting Summary
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation briefed the Committee on the South African Government’s approach to Israel and the Palestine in the light of the proposed visit to the region by five Members of the Committee from 23 January to 1 February 2011.
Although South Africa supported the recognition of a Palestinian State, the country continued to maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, albeit in a manner that limited engagement at the official level. The Department had noted an increased number of requests from Israel for South African officials to engage with various Israeli authorities and organisations, which was perceived to be a concerted effort by Israel to increase the level of engagement with other countries. The Department had submitted a list of organisations and individuals that could be visited by the delegation during the planned visit.
The South African Government welcomed the moves by Argentina and Chile to promote the recognition of a Palestine state but considered the lack of unity within Palestine and the resolution of the East Jerusalem issue to be of critical importance. South Africa had received a request from Hamas to intervene in the matter of the imprisonment by Israel of an East Jerusalem Member of the Hamas Parliamentary Legislative Council.
Members requested clarity on the South African Government’s position on Israel, Palestine and the nature of the action requested by Hamas.
Meeting report
Election of Chairperson
The Acting Chairperson, Ms R Magau (ANC) called for nominations for the post of Chairperson of the Committee.
Mr M Manana (ANC) nominated Mr T Magama (ANC) and the nomination was seconded by Mr K Mubu (DA). There being no other nominees, Mr Magama was duly elected.
Mr Mubu and Ms C Dudley (ACDP) extended their congratulations to Mr Magama.
Proposed Committee Visit to Palestine and Israel
The Committee Secretary advised that 5 Members of the Committee would visit Palestine and Israel from 23 January 2011 to 1 February 2011. The delegates were Mr Magama (leader of the delegation), Mr Manana, Ms Magau and Mr Mokgalapa. Ms Dudley had agreed to replace Mr S Mgonyama (COPE), who was unable to undertake the visit.
Briefing by Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)
Ambassador Sisa Ngombane, Deputy Director-General: Asia and Middle East, DIRCO, briefed the Committee on the South African Government’s stance on Israel and Palestine in view of the Committee’s pending visit to the region.
The ruling party (the African National Congress) did not encourage open engagement with Israel. Diplomatic relations with Israel were retained but the Department coordinated contact at the official level. An increase in the number of invitations to South African officials to visit Israel and to attend seminars had been observed and was perceived to be a concerted attempt by the Israeli Government to increase contact with other countries.
South Africa welcomed the recent moves by Argentina and Chile to recognise the right of the state of Palestine to exist. The embargo on the construction of settlements on the West Bank was recently lifted. Another area of concern was the lack of unity within the state of Palestine. Deputy President Motlanthe had met with representatives of Hamas and with Palestinians living in Syria during a recent visit to Damascus. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Egypt objected to the engagement of South Africa with Hamas and considered Hamas to be unconstructive. South Africa was of the opinion that it was critical for the Palestinian state to achieve unity before progress could be made in achieving an independent state.
South Africa was of the opinion that a resolution of the East Jerusalem issue was central to the peace process. During elections held in 2006, 4 members from East Jerusalem were elected to the Hamas Parliamentary Legislative Council. However, Military Order No. 1650 removed citizenship from residents of East Jerusalem and required a special permit to allow entry to the area. The intention of the Military Order was to remove Palestinians from East Jerusalem and to resettle them to the West Bank. One of the Members of the Hamas Parliamentary Legislative Council was arrested and imprisoned in Israel for failing to obtain the necessary permit to enter East Jerusalem. The Department had received a letter from Hamas appealing to the South African Government to intervene in the matter and apply pressure on Israel to release the Hamas Member. A transcript of the letter was circulated to the Committee.
It was not possible to enter the West Bank without passing through Israeli border posts. It was also considered to be proper for South African officials to meet with Israeli Government authorities, opposition parties and civil society organisations. The current strike by Israeli officials complicated visits by foreign delegations. South Africa was in the process of considering a request from Israel for the Israeli President to meet with President Zuma. A new South African ambassador to Ramallah had not yet been appointed.
The Department had prepared a list of persons and organisations that the Committee could consider engaging with during the proposed visit.
Discussion
Mr Mubu had found a visit to Israel during 2010 to be useful, if one-sided. He felt that both sides of the equation should be visited to obtain a balanced perspective. He asked how the ruling party saw the issues being resolved if contact with the Israeli Government was limited and how South Africa could play any mediating role unless the position of both sides in the conflict was understood.
Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) would have liked to have had the opportunity to study the letter from Hamas in order to determine what action was required from South Africa. The issues were contentious and the degree of influence of South Africa in the Middle East was debatable. He felt that it was not beneficial if the country was perceived to be favouring one party engaged in the conflict and that it was important to obtain a balanced perspective.
Ms Dudley asked what the purpose and the desired outcomes were of the Committee’s visit to the region. She felt that it was important for Members to understand what action was requested by Hamas.
Ambassador Ngombane explained that the challenge for South Africa was to manage the relationship with Israel while supporting the recognition of the state of Palestine. Israel had the power to facilitate the existence of the Palestinian state but South Africa resisted considerable pressure to take a hard line approach by imposing sanctions and removing diplomatic ties with Israel. South Africa did not necessarily endorse all the actions taken by Israel and deplored the acts of violence that resulted in the loss of life on both sides in the conflict. South Africa attempted to apply pressure on Israel to make progress in resolving the conflict by limiting diplomatic relations and by making approval of Israeli initiatives subject to progress made in resolving the Palestinian issues. The proposed visit by Members of the Committee was an opportunity for the country to express its position with regard to the Palestinian issue and to indicate its concern over the situation in the Middle East. South Africa should take the opportunity of the Committee’s visit to the region to indicate the country’s support for the recognition of Palestine. The request from Hamas was essentially that South Africa highlighted the plight of Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and to oppose the removal of the rights of citizens. The Parliamentary delegation was made up of members of various political parties and it was important to promote the resolution of the conflict by peaceful means. Israel needed to understand that there was growing support for the recognition of Palestine and for the restoration of the rights of the Palestinian people.
The Chairperson summarised that the Members of the Committee would attempt to visit all sides of the divide. Given the history of the country, South Africa had an obligation to support all the oppressed people of the world and to promote negotiation as a means to achieve the non-violent resolution of conflict. He thanked Ambassador Ngombane for the input provided in the briefing.
Ambassador Ngombane reminded the Committee that the Fifth India/Brazil/South Africa (IBSA) summit would be hosted by South Africa during 2011. IBSA had a multi-party Parliamentary component and there was support from India and Brazil for this particular aspect to be developed further.
Mr Mubu asked when the Committee would meet to plan its activities for the forthcoming year. The Committee needed to discuss the report on the recent visit to Addis Ababa.
Ms Magau suggested that the Committee met in early February 2011 to identify the key focus areas.
Ms B Gxowa (ANC) reminded the Chairperson that the report on the visit to the Western Sahara had to be discussed by the Committee as well.
The Chairperson advised that the Committee would meet after the trip to the Middle East to review its strategic plan and its performance against objectives.
The meeting was adjourned.
