Former president Thabo Mbeki has called for South Africa to continue to fight for the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
He said: “I am very glad about the position our country has taken on this matter. I think we must persist. The rights of the Palestinian people must be respected.”
Mbeki said their struggle could not be ignored.
“The matter about the future of the Palestinian people is not anything you can walk away from. It has to be resolved, whatever the cost.”
The war between Israel and Hamas has torn South Africans down the middle, with the ruling party and several others supporting Palestine while the main opposition DA supports Israel.
Desperate to rebuild its structures in the Western Cape, the ANC also hopes Muslim communities in the Cape, Durban and Johannesburg will vote for it in today’s general elections.
Mbeki made his remarks after voting at Tata Nelson Mandela’s voting station in Killarney in Johannesburg.
The former president was recently admitted to a hospital for a week after contracting the H1N1 flu strain. Mbeki had to withdraw from the election campaign trail after catching the virus in Durban.
Mbeki, who was wearing a mask, said he was struggling with a lung infection when he caught the flu but is on the path of recovery.
“It’s very important that all of us come out to vote,” he said. “The ANC must renew itself because it is very important to the future of this country.”
Pictured above: Thabo Mbeki.
Image source: X
