Political parties, trade unions and human rights organisations gathered at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Johannesburg on Wednesday to form part of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Marchers filled the streets of Joburg from Newtown to the Constitution Hill via Mandela Bridge, chanting with placards, banners, and posters calling for an immediate ceasefire amid escalating violence in Gaza.
Nearly 15,000 people, including 10,000 women and children, have been killed in Gaza since Israeli troops started bombing the area.
Addressing the crowd, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said that the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, should be arrested because he is a war criminal.
“If the ICC can talk about Ukraine and say that Putin must be arrested, then why are you leaving out a murderer like Netanyahu who is killing children and bombing hospitals and refugee camps?" he said.
Mbalula also called for the shutdown of the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria with immediate effect. “That embassy must be shut down, not yesterday, but today. As the ANC, that is our voice,” he said.
He joined the masses on the streets to show support for the people of Palestine.
Speaking to the crowd, BDS representative Roshan Dadoo warned not to be scared, but to push for a ceasefire and also called for the ongoing genocide to end in Palestine.
She said they would not allow apartheid to be used in Gaza. The general secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), Zwelinzima Vavi, also called for the shutdown of the Israeli embassy.
He also called for businesses to boycott goods and products from Israel as a way to show solidarity with Palestine.
Many of the marchers were heard chanting slogans against Netanyahu and calling for him to stop the genocide in Gaza.
IOL