Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read | 07 October 2025 | 12:30 CAT

Demonstrators protest in support of Palestinians as they march to the Cape Town City Hall, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Cape Town, South Africa November 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nic Bothma

As the world marks two years since Israel’s onslaught on Gaza began on 7 October 2023, South Africans are once again amplifying their calls for justice and accountability. What began as a “small picket outside Durban City Hall,” according to South African Palestine Movement (SAPM) spokesperson Saydoonisa Sayed, has evolved into an unrelenting campaign of resistance and awareness across the country.

“From the 8th of October 2023, when Gaza was bombed and the genocide began, we have been active for more than two years trying to make civil society and our own government realize what apartheid is, and how we, as a leading country, can assist the people of Palestine,” Sayed told Radio Islam International.

The United Nations has now confirmed what Palestinian activists and global solidarity networks have long asserted that Israel is committing genocide. Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, with entire communities displaced, starved, and denied access to basic needs.

Sayed described the two-year milestone as “traumatic and painful,” drawing comparisons between the current atrocities and the Rwandan genocide. “It’s so traumatic to me as an activist, someone who’s not part of this horrific murdering situation. We empathize and sympathize with people who don’t have to be of any particular faith, this displacement and destruction have taken us out of our comfort zone,” she said.

The South African Palestine Movement continues to organize weekly pickets across the country and to participate in global solidarity actions. Last week, they held a protest at Durban Harbor in heavy rain to condemn Israel’s interception of the Global Samud Flotilla – an international convoy attempting to break the siege on Gaza. “We had one solidarity boat in the harbor amplifying our voice as we stood in the rain,” Sayed added.

She also raised concerns about South Africa’s complicity in exporting coal through Durban and Richards Bay to Israel, which she said “fuels the genocide.” Despite this, she praised the growing unity among South African organisations. “Some good things have come out of the bad, our solidarity organisations have come together to address many challenges.”

As the two-year mark is commemorated, SAPM calls for intensified boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. “Ordinary people have come out and said enough is enough,” Sayed affirmed. “We hope, insha’Allah, that this genocide will end soon and that we won’t have to add another year to our banner.”

Listen to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and South African Palestine Movement spokesperson Saydoonisa Sayed.