By Kouthar Sambo

Civil society and various communities have called, and Parliament has listened. 

As the ongoing protests in the Western Cape continue in a bid to showcase their support for Palestine, protesters have called for the closing of the Israeli embassy. 

This comes as Parliament is set to vote on the decision today to close the Israeli embassy after the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) brought the motion before Parliament to have the embassy closed amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestine conflict. 

It is believed that the African National Congress (ANC) has expressed support for the referral of Israel to the International Criminal Court in response to the aggressions by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Speaking on VOC’s Drive Time earlier today, Political Economist and Professor of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg Professor Patrick Bond said the matter is long overdue. 

“If you recall in 2014, the other major attacks on Gaza, the point at which President Jacob Zuma was being compelled to request the closure of the Israeli embassy to policymakers, and he failed to do so at the time,” added Bond. 

The reason was that he was about to take a flight to the US to meet with the leaders, explained Bond, it was a celebration to the “Zionist” community when Zuma affirmed that South Africa would not eject the Israeli ambassador. 

Bond further added that the deals the country had going with Israel at the time influenced this decision. 

Furthermore, the motion was debated today in a mini-plenary of the National Assembly and will be voted on at a later date.

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