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Tension in South Africa after two demonstrations, one in support of Palestine and the other in support of Israelis...

Tension in South Africa after two demonstrations, one in support of Palestine and the other in support of Israelis...

By Omayma othmani

Published: November 12, 2023

The police intervened in South Africa today, Sunday, to break up clashes between pro-Israel protesters and others supporting the Palestinians who are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

In detail, a prayer for Israel and the prisoners detained in Gaza was scheduled for the afternoon in an upscale area in Cape Town on the Atlantic coast, a place for family walks on Sundays, but hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters also gathered at the event site, following a solidarity demonstration with Gaza that thousands participated in on the city streets the day before.

It was also reported by "sources" that pro-Palestinian protesters, wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags, expelled Israel supporters and tore up their banners.

Meanwhile, the police intervened with water cannons and threw stun grenades to disperse the protesters, then cordoned off the area.

For his part, Cape Town Mayor Gordon Hill Lewis explained in a statement saying: "Today we witnessed a violent disruption of a peaceful prayer gathering scheduled in support of Israel," calling on everyone, even if they are in "severe disagreement" with others, to exercise restraint.

He affirmed that everyone has the right to "peaceful protest" in South Africa, which had witnessed "in the past a ban on protests or violent repression of them and censorship of opinions," referring to the decades of apartheid regime.

He added: "Just as tens of thousands of residents gathered (Saturday) to peacefully protest" in support of the Palestinians, the scheduled demonstration today should have been respected."

Many demonstrations supporting both camps have been organized over the weeks in major South African cities where the ruling African National Congress has supported the Palestinian cause for decades.

But South Africa also hosts the largest Jewish community in sub-Saharan countries, and a section of it organized vigils and demonstrations in support of Israel.

It was noted that another Jewish group belonging to the left and who participated in the struggle against the apartheid regime organized several demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause.

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