Muslim scholars thank ANC for pro-Palestinian support [VIDEO]

The International Union of Muslim Scholars presented the African National Congress (ANC) with a certificate in thanks for its pro-Palestinian stance. which included taking Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for alleged genocide in Gaza.

The union’s Ibrahim Farouk El-Zayat handed the “Appreciation: The role of a free and just South Africa charting the past to a dignified and free Palestine document” to ANC and South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Monday.

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‘Acts of duty’

Ramaphosa said it was an honour to receive this on behalf of the party as the union represented many Muslim-based oraganisations around the world.

“This is an honour that we as the African National Congress truly feel humbled by,” he said.

“The action that we took to support the people of Palestine, especially the people of Gaza, was not really taken to earn any plaudits, to earn any honours.

“For us it was a duty, a duty to support those who are experiencing a violation of basic human rights, who are in fact being subjected to genocide.”

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Ramaphosa said this was in line with teachings of the late Nelson Mandela, that “our freedom as South Africans will not be complete until the freedom of the Palestinian people has been achieved”.

He also said there was a growing support for the Palestinian cause around the world.

Watch the full briefing here:

ANC returns to the ICJ

The South African government returned to the ICJ last week to seek an urgent order from the court to protect the Palestinian people from human rights violations under the Genocide Convention, especially as a result of Israel’s current assault on the city of Rafah.

The assault “poses extreme risk to humanitarian supplies, basic services into Gaza, the survival of the Palestinian medical system, and the very survival of Palestinians in Gaza as a group,” a statement from the Presidency read.

This while the SA Jewish Board of Deputies protested on Friday over what they called International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor’s “attempts to import violence and hate into our campuses”.

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