Johannesburg -
Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas wants South Africa to lead the acceptance for international guidelines on the sanctions and boycott campaign against Israel.
Speaking at the John Makhatini diplomatic guest house in Waterkloof Heights, Pretoria, on Thursday, Abbas and his chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, spoke warmly of their renewed ties with this country after Abbas’s State visit to South Africa this week.
They reiterated the powerful role South Africa could play in assisting Palestine to self-determination, emphasising the role of boycotts.
Abbas said he had raised the issue in his discussions with the ANC government, which also saw the signing of three new agreements to add to the six in place between the two countries.
The Palestinian leaders praised the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) organisation, which is behind the campaign to compel Woolworths to stop buying foodstuffs from Israel and the occupied territories.
This week, a court ordered Woolworths and BDS to enter into talks with each other over their conflict.
“They are the platform and glue with their single focus over this one issue,” said Abbas.
Earlier this week, Palestine’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Riad Malki, emphasised in an interview with The Star that Palestine would be looking at “ways to improve, develop and deepen” the relationship with South Africa.
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We will sit together to see how South Africa could lend a hand to us to achieve freedom and independence. This is something South Africa committed itself to, even under Nelson Mandela, who said the freedom of South Africa is not complete without the Palestinians. We would like to walk hand-in-hand with you.”
On Wednesday, representatives of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and the South African Zionist Federation met Abbas and President Jacob Zuma to talk about Abbas’s views on a final peace settlement between Israel and Palestine.
Abbas said it meant pursuing a negotiated solution aimed at creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel based on the 1967 borders.
The Jewish leaders welcomed Abbas’s commitment to a negotiated two-state solution and said they supported South Africa’s efforts at bringing Israel and Palestine together.
The Star