A day after a massive gathering in Cape Town, South Africa on 11 November 2023, of more than 200,000 people expressing solidarity with Palestine and calling for a ceasefire and end to genocide, anti-riot police opened fire with rubber bullets, stun grenades and water cannons on a group of peaceful protesters and families who often gather along the promenade at Sea Point in Cape Town for Sunday picnics. The group included Member of Parliament and grandson of the late Nelson Mandela, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, who has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli Apartheid regime. He has often been accused by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and the Zionist Federation of being antisemitic. He applauded people who came out in their numbers and stated that the “Zionist State of Israel’s flag is deeply stained with the blood of Palestinians and Palestinian children in particular. It must not be allowed to fly anywhere in South Africa.” He went on to recall the 1950’s Defiance Campaign led by South African women, staging acts of public and civil disobedience and stating that the Defiance Campaign in solidarity with Palestinians has been activated. “Let us defy and contest every space in South Africa in which the Zionists want to use our hard won freedom to support Apartheid in Occupied Palestine,” he said.

The impromptu congregation appeared to face-off with Zionist supporters, who planned a prayer meeting for the release of hostages but had been accompanied by a strong show of force by the police. The violent confrontation erupted, as pro-Palestinian South Africans sought to express their solidarity and correct the misrepresentations of the pro-Israel rally calling for the release of hostages.

Both sides accused each other of hate speech, with the pro-Zionists, predominantly white, implying that the pro-Palestinian supporters were “bussed in” from areas outside of the city – a deeply racial statement, considering the apartheid era segregation through the Group Areas Act that forcefully displaced people of colour.

In scenes reminiscent of the days of apartheid, not far from the historic Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and other freedom fighters were imprisoned for terrorism, depicted people being violently dragged off by police, coming under fire with rubber bullets, and water cannons believed to have been procured by the South African Police Services (SAPS) from Israel, and previously used in the 2015 Fees Must Fall university protests, where skunk was sprayed on protesters.

Demonstrators report that the pro-Israeli group was already heavily flanked with a police escort and that riot police were deployed in a gaslighting, confrontational manner. It is believed that the leading political party in the Western Cape Province, the Democratic Alliance (DA), which is also the official opposition in the South African Parliament, and who have been fiercely supportive of the Zionist onslaught on Gaza, arranged for the heavy police presence, deliberately intimidating the pro-Palestinian side.

MP Mandela had, just days before the protest, issued a press statement calling on the South African Minister of Public Enterprises and on the Chairperson of Armscor (a State-owned arms enterprise) to announce the immediate embargo of arms, ordinances, weapons systems and all related materials still flowing to Apartheid Israel, and for the imperative oversight of Parliament to ensure the full implementation of the National Conventional Arms Control Act of 2002, that prohibits the sale of arms to any country embroiled in conflict, where those weapons or components could be used against a civilian population. Armscor has responded that no arms have been sold or transferred to Israel.

The DA position on the situation in Palestine is in stark divergence from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and South African Government position, which has been deeply rooted in anti-apartheid liberation movement ideology. In an opinion piece published on 12 November 2023, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr. Naledi Pandor, expressed outrage at the war crimes perpetrated in Gaza and called for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and his ilk, emphasizing that failure to do so, would exacerbate the cynicism that international law is applied selectively. She added, “even during the darkest days of apartheid, we were not subjected to the targeted bombing of hospitals, schools or residential buildings. Apartheid South Africa had its horrors over many decades, but the scenes we are witnessing in Gaza are another level of cruelty.” She further called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to speed up its investigation on the situation in Palestine and to investigate and explore breaches of three of the four crimes within the ICC jurisdiction, viz. war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. This followed a statement by her department on 30 October 2023, in which it was firmly reiterated that “Israel does not have the ‘right to defend itself’ using military means as Israel is an occupying power,” as confirmed by the International Court of Justice. That statement also called for those who have “encouraged and materially supported the unlawful use of force by Israel” to be investigated for aiding and abetting the breaches of international law.

The ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by Julius Malema, have consistently stated that they do not share the Western view that Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Malema has stated in EFF-led rallies calling for the Israeli Ambassador to South Africa to be declared persona non grata, that Hamas are freedom fighters and not terrorists, in contrast to how the group had been portrayed in Israel and by Western countries.

Incongruously, the DA regards Hamas as “a terrorist organisation opposed to peace and to a two-state solution,” despite the fact that only 12% of the world (largely from western nations) share those sentiments. While the ANC and EFF have demanded an immediate ceasefire, the DA, with strong ties to Israel, opted for language in support of “humanitarian pauses”. These statements have been received as inflammatory by the majority of the South African public, who have long shared an affinity and deep sense of solidarity with Palestinians. The political positioning by the leading parties over the situation in Palestine has also set the tone for the battle for votes in the upcoming 2024 national elections, particularly in the Western Cape and amongst the Muslim population.

Zeenat Adam is a former diplomat and international relations strategist.