GOOD Statement by Brett Herron, Unite for Change Leadership Council Member and GOOD Secretary-General:
Although the 153 Palestinians who arrived in South Africa last week were not forced aboard the mystery aircraft at gunpoint, practically speaking, they were forcibly removed by the annihilation of infrastructure in Gaza, rendering it unfit for human habitation.
“Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory… regardless of their motive,” are explicitly prohibited by the Geneva Convention. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classifies the “deportation or forcible transfer of population” as a war crime, and “if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population” also a crime against humanity.
In this context, it is wholly inappropriate for South Africa to have so quietly criticised those who facilitated the unexpected arrival of the 153 Palestinians last week; they weren’t facilitating mercy flights, they were facilitating war crimes.
While details of the “voluntary migration” operation that brought them to South Africa are opaque, it appears to be supported by the Government of Israel through its Ministry of Defence’s Voluntary Emigration Bureau, aided by a group called Al-Majd Europe. Together, they have concocted an ingeniously immoral plan to entice people to pay for their own forced relocation.
Al-Majd Europe has been linked to an Israeli-Estonian national who is not registered as a relief organisation, and the German physical address on its website does not appear to exist.
Instead of spending money on schemes to clear Palestine of Palestinians for good, while seeking to profit on the side from the desperation of Palestinians who can afford to pay a premium price for international flights, Gaza must be rebuilt.
The GOOD Party calls on the South African government to continue its principled advocacy for justice in Palestine by submitting a supplementary affidavit to the International Court of Justice, which is, too slowly, considering South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel.
GOOD Manifesto on Responsible Citizenship: Promoting responsible citizenship and civic participation.
trinitysoul
Fun South African Fact: South Africa was once the world’s number one producer of gold
acetic princess
Hayibo! – wow! [Hai-bo] Derived from the Zulu word meaning “definitely not!” This word is usually expressed on its own, at the start or end of a sentence when something seems incredible.Example: “Hayibo! Ha! Ha! I can’t believe that!”