‘Apartheid Israel worse than SA apartheid;Congress of SA Trade Unions

The “apartheid state” is worse than the apartheid that was conducted in , Willie Madisha, the Congress of SA Trade Unions president, said on July 10 on the South African Broadcasting Corporation. He said Palestinians were being attacked with heavy machinery and tanks used in war, something which had never happened in .

Cosatu and other organisations supporting Palestine have called on government to end diplomatic relations with and establish boycotts and sanctions such as those against apartheid .

  has launched several attacks on Gaza, bombing its main university and firing missiles which have killed Palestinian bystanders. This follows the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinians. “We see no justification for this attack,” said Ali Hamileh, Palestinian ambassador to . He said while the whole world was talking about one Israeli soldier, more than 10 000 Palestinians were being kept in Israeli jails.

 
“My leadership made it clear the soldier can be released immediately if responds to mediation. The demand for exchange of prisoners is justified by international law. We are not demanding something unacceptable,” he said.

Virginia Tilley, the professor of political science, said , was one of the only places where a vision had been brought forward to address collective punishment of perceived inferiority.

 
“I can’t imagine a better beacon in that struggle than this country and it has stood back. If there is any moral authority in , it must come into play now,” she said. Madisha said should be seen as an apartheid state and the same sanctions must be applied that were established against .

*this article was reprinted from a South African Broadcasting Corporation radio broadcast