GOOD secretary Brett Herron with party members at the Palestine solidarity march in Cape Town on Saturday. Picture: X/@brettherron
Good Party secretary Brett Herron has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as Israel continues to pummel the enclave.
Officials in Gaza confirmed the death toll has passed 11 000, while over 2 600 people, including about 1 400 children, are reported missing, potentially trapped or deceased beneath the rubble, according to the Health Ministry.
Tens of thousands have also been wounded overwhelming struggling medical facilities as the humanitarian situation reaches horrific levels, compounded by the lack of food, water, fuel and electricity.
The relentless attack by Israel came after Hamas launched a surprise attack on 7 October, leaving 1 200 people – mostly civilians – dead while taking 239 people hostages, according to updated Israeli figures.
Herron said GOOD’s policy reaffirms the party’s support for justice for the people of Palestine and an immediate ceasefire.
“We can’t claim to be a party of justice of values while looking away from the fact that Israel’s government has imposed apartheid on the holy land and is presently conducting genocide against the civilian population of Palestine.”
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Patricia de Lille, re-elected leader of the party, echoed Herron’s comments.
“The only path to peace, now, for the people of Israel and Palestine, is for their leaders to be prevailed on to declare an unconditional ceasefire.
“The International Criminal Court must investigate and prosecute breaches of international law under the Rome Statute. Good remains committed to the pursuit of a two-state solution in line with the 1967 border agreement and associated UN resolutions,” said De Lille.
Last week, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor also called for an immediate ceasefire saying actions by Israel and Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu are a violation of international law, including the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions and all its protocols.
Delivering a statement in the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, Pandor said she would have expected that the International Criminal Court (ICC) would have issued an immediate arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Israel to stop killing Gaza’s women and babies.
Speaking a day after a humanitarian aid conference in Paris about the war in Gaza, Macron told the BBC the “clear conclusion” of all governments and agencies present at that summit was “that there is no other solution than first a humanitarian pause, going to a ceasefire, which will allow (us) to protect… all civilians having nothing to do with terrorists”.
“De facto – today, civilians are bombed – de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop,” said Macron.
ALSO READ: Israel’s Netanyahu should be arrested for ‘murder of women and children’ – Pandor
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