SPEECH BY MR BM SKOSANA MP
 

National Assembly , 06 June 2007  

Madam Speaker,

The 2007 Israeli Palestinian conflict is a long way from the Balfour Declaration announcing Great Britain's intention to establish a Jewish national homeland in Palestine.

The conflict is a long way from the UN General Assembly's recommendation in 1947 to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish states despite the growing hostilities between the two.

The conflict is a long way from the proclamation of the state of Israel in 1948 and the strong rejection by the Arab states to the partitioning of Palestine and of the existence of the state of Israel.

The period between 1948 and 1988 was marked by a series of Israeli Arab wars and Palestinian uprisings. The Palestinian Authority under the leadership of Chairman Yasser Arafat recognised the existence of the state of Israel in 1988.

Subsequently, a number of peace initiatives and agreements, including the Oslo Accords of 1993, led to the "Roadmap" in search of a lasting peace based upon a two-state solution, which this House supported in the past.

The IFP is therefore in disagreement with the draft resolution before the House and submits an amendment.

There are broad principles which we, of course, all agree with such as that there must be an immediate ceasefire on both sides to create a climate conducive to negotiations and that progress must be made to release all prisoners and hostages.

The IFP has consistently condemned violence wherever it occurs.

In respect of Zimbabwe, for example, our government did not adopt a prescriptive approach, yet this draft resolution before the House proposes to do so in the Middle East.

This approach will not make a contribution to a lasting solution in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The IFP therefore submits the following amendment.

We propose that the Chief Whip of the majority party urgently meets with the whips of the other political parties represented in this House to hammer out a fresh approach to South Africa's position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bring it back to this House for ratification.

The benchmark of our statecraft must be consistency in shaping our response to disputes everywhere.

I thank you.