Ex-political prisoners and activists in South Africa embarked on a campaign in solidarity with the Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails.
The campaign was launched by the Ex-Political Prisoners of South Africa Association and Ahmed Kathrada Foundation under the title “Boycott of Israel for Palestine Initiative.”
The campaign was announced during a press conference in Johannesburg to express solidarity with the Palestinian detainees who have joined the mass hunger strike that has been ongoing for the 9th day running.
A joint statement by the two NGOs harked back to the fallouts of the apartheid era in South Africa which they said is not so much different from the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The statement lashed out at Israel for turning its back on international law and human rights conventions over 50 years of colonization.
According to the South African NGOs 800000 Palestinians have been arrested and imprisoned by the Israeli occupation on racist grounds over the past 50 years.
They stressed the legitimacy and fairness of the Palestinian hunger strike in Israeli jails and expressed their unyielding support for the prisoners’ cause.
Hundreds of Palestinians joined a mass hunger strike that started in Israeli jails as of April 17 to press for basic human rights and protest the abject detention conditions.
Nearly 6500 Palestinians among whom 57 women and 300 children are held in 24 Israeli lock-ups and detention centers across the occupied Palestinian territories.
