ANC must not interfere with Israeli issue

The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) is making an appeal to the South African government not to downgrade the South African Embassy in Israel to a Liaison Office in keeping with the decision taken during the recent ANC conference. A country’s government is responsible for making decisions on behalf of all the citizens and cannot allow petty political decisions taken by a single political party to manipulate international relations, says Dr Pieter Groenewald, leader of the FF Plus.

According to Dr Groenewald, the Israel-Palestine issue is complicated and Israel must be recognised as a sovereign state. The FF Plus has sympathy for the Palestine ideal of self-determination and believes that a peaceful solution to the problem needs to be found.

“If the South African government does indeed carry out the decision made by the ANC, it will choose sides against Israel and that will impair the chances of finding a peaceful solution. Instead, the South African government must be unbiased and make an effort to find a peaceful solution.

“The South African government must distinguish between the interests of the party and the country’s best interests,” says Dr Groenewald.

Statement issued by Dr. Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 28 December 2017