Bongani Hans
TWO South African MPs have called on the South African government to take action against the Israeli authorities for denying them diplomatic visas to visit Palestine for the international commemoration of an apartheid-style occupation.
NFP MP Ahmed Munzoor Shaik Emam and PAC president Mzwanele Nyhontso were due to fly to Palestine via Israel’s Tel Aviv Airport to attend the 75th Anniversary Nakba Conference.
The three-day event to commemorate the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, was scheduled to take place in Ramallah between July 28 and July 31.
However, they believe that the rejection of their visas might be rectified as Palestine embassy official Sharifa Schultz said the event has been postponed to November because Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas had other political agendas in July.
According to Emam, the Palestine authorities had invited a number of MPs from various political parties in South Africa to join their counterparts from across the world to attend the Nakba Conference but other MPs could not attend for various reasons and only he and Nyhontso accepted the invitation and made travelling arrangements through the Israeli ambassador in Pretoria.
“This action by Israel is an alarming display of duplicity, attempting to silence voices and hinder the democratic rights of elected representatives (from South Africa) to advocate for justice and human rights,” said Emam.
The Israeli embassy could not be reached to respond to Emam and Nyhontso’s allegations as its phone rang unanswered and its email address was not displayed on its website.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation also did not respond to request for comment sent to its spokesperson Clayson Monyela.
Although the Palestinian Embassy website states it categorically that “South African citizens do not require a tourist visa to enter Palestine”, Emam said that only applies to ordinary South African citizens because the Israeli government demand that diplomats, including MPs, should have the documents.
Those who visit Palestine do so via the airport in Tel Aviv because the Palestine Airport was completely destroyed by the Israeli bombardment in December 2001 and “bulldozers cut the runway on 10 January 2002, rendering the airport inoperable”.
“If you enter through Tel Aviv you got to have a diplomatic visa. If you go all over Palestinian territory, you have to go through Israeli army checkpoints all over.
“You pass about 10 checkpoints before you get to Ramallah, and in all those checkpoints, despite that they are in the Palestinian territory, they (Israeli soldiers) check, and if you don’t have a visa they terrorise you in all those checkpoints,” said Emam.
After submitting their application dismay, Emam and Nyhontso were informed that they could not get the documents to enter Palestine, and Emam believed that they were being punished for supporting the struggle against the occupation of Palestine by Israel.
Emam said his role in the struggle to free Palestine is well known.
The Middle East Eye and The Times of Israel publications reported that the NFP introduced a draft resolution in parliament calling for the downgrading of the Israeli embassy, which was voted by the majority of MPs.
Emam said he had intended to stay two days extra after the conference in order to visit areas that were destroyed by the Israeli army.
He said he would approach the South African government to intervene to make sure that the denial of diplomatic visas was not repeated as many South African politicians who have voiced their support against Palestine occupation have been denied entry into Palestine by the Israeli authorities.
“We cannot allow Israelis a free for all when they come here but this is how they treat us.
“I have spoken to them (South African government) and we have to take a strong stance,” said Emam.
It was not the first time Israeli authorities face criticism for denying access to Palestine to those it believed were opposed to heavy-handed authoritarian rule.
In August last year, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet fired a salvo at the Israeli government for sending 15 of his international staff packing through refusing to renew the visas that allowed them to continue working in Palestine.
“Israel’s treatment of our staff is part of a wider and worrying trend to block human rights access to the occupied Palestinian territory.
“This raises the question of what exactly the Israeli authorities are trying to hide,” said Bachelet in a statement last year.
Emam said during his application, the Israeli ambassador demanded lots of information in “terms of itinerary, the road you were going to be using, how long you were going to stay (in Palestine) and who were you meeting, which was all provided to them” but still the application was rejected.
Nyhontso alleged that he was treated badly when he physically approached the offices of the Israeli embassy in Pretoria to apply for the visa.
“I was denied entry into the offices and instructed to wait in the parking where I was attended to by a security guard who gave me forms to fill out.
“After submitting the forms I was told that my application was unsuccessful because I had applied late,” he said.
Nyhontso also believed that the rejection was because of his views in Parliament about the occupation of Palestine.
“Even though I supported the motion to downgrade the embassy, in fact, I was calling for the embassy to shut down and send the ambassador packing,” he said.