Cyril Ramaphosa’s appearance at the UN General Assembly was underwhelming, but the SA president’s address at the UN special conference on Palestine will go down as one of his most consequential.
This week, France led a special conference to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state alongside Israel. A brave move. This was followed and supported by the UK, Australia and Canada before 81% of UN members voted to formally recognise Palestine.
Unsurprisingly, the US and Israel didn’t support it. The US barred Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate leader of the Palestinian Authority and his delegation from attending the UN session; they were denied visas to New York. As a result, he had to deliver a virtual address to the assembly.
On his arrival at the assembly, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, dismissed the Palestinian state’s recognition.
Under pressure at home, Ramaphosa’s star shone brighter in New York. In his inspiring address, he sought to remind the world body of its debt to the peoples of Palestine.
He said: “Shortly after the UN was created, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, which recommended the creation of two states, Israel and Palestine. Immediately following the adoption of this resolution, only the State of Israel was created, ushering the Palestinians into a decades-long wilderness of statelessness characterised by decades of occupation and now genocide.
“The High-Level International Conference has clearly shown that the global majority is committed to peace in the Middle East and supports the long overdue creation and recognition of the sovereign State of Palestine.”
Few of today’s world leaders remember this.
Supported by President Donald Trump, Netanyahu is seeking to discredit the “two-state” narrative. He is perilously close to his goal of destroying Gaza. On October 7 2023, Hamas, the militant group, attacked Israel’s civilians. In retaliation, Israel has launched a perpetual bombardment of Gaza in an effort to rout Hamas.
In the process, the military operation has claimed the lives of civilians and children, journalists and medical workers, as well as obstructed humanitarian aid. Not only has Israel bombarded Gaza, but it has also attacked states deemed to be friendly to Hamas. These have included Lebanon and Iran.
Through the decades, few people — including Hamas and its proxies — have ever denied that Israel deserves to exist as a state and that its security is important. Yet, Netanyahu is still pushing for the elimination of Hamas at all costs. At all costs has included permutations that include the disturbing annexation of Gaza.
— Ramaphosa’s call needs to be heeded. The Middle East needs and — desperately — deserves lasting peace.
Ramaphosa’s intervention was significant on several fronts.
As well as reminding the world of an important historical perspective on the conflict, he also pointed out the current crises. These include halfhearted ceasefire efforts and obstruction of humanitarian aid.
Ramaphosa’s call needs to be heeded. The Middle East needs and — desperately — deserves lasting peace. This is unthinkable without Israel accepting coexistence peacefully with a sovereign state of Palestine.
The world’s nations are right to have finally recognised the state of Palestine. But this is only a first step. Hard work lies ahead. This includes persuading Trump to lean on Netanyahu to stop his war against the world. The world is not against the state of Israel, nor the Jews. Leaning on Netanyahu will obviate this eventuality. Already, he is in danger of losing American support in his Gaza military operation.
Calls for the resumption of humanitarian efforts are welcome. But they are not enough. The world, especially the UN, needs to take practical steps to ensure this happens. Evidence on the ground suggests that while the world wants humanitarian aid to flow, not enough of it has been offered.
Symbolically, SA must put its skin in the game as a government in this regard. The biggest effort now must be towards a ceasefire. This is vitally important and cannot be deferred. After his sterling performance at the high-level conference on Palestine, Ramaphosa must prove he meant it.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.