South African Ambassador to Palestine, Ashraf Suliman, has confirmed South Africa’s full support for the rights of Palestinians and denounced recent Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Speaking to the African News Agency (ANA), at the Erez border crossing from Gaza into Israel, Suliman confirmed he had just concluded a visit to the coastal territory where he met with Hamas leaders and called for the lifting of the 11-year-long blockade on the enclave.
South African Ambassador to Palestine, Ashraf Suliman, visits Gift of the Givers Women and Child Care Centre in Gaza. This is his second visit to the centre. He was briefed on Gift of the Givers current projects… https://t.co/ulZqeEIEwv
— Gift of the Givers (@GiftoftheGivers) November 21, 2018
During Suliman’s meeting with Hamas’ Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, the ambassador praised the efforts exerted on the regional and international level to lift the siege on Gaza, end the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, and achieve reconciliation between the two main Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah.
In 2012, the @UN warned that unless ongoing trends were reversed, Gaza would become unliveable and unfit for humans to live in by 2020.
Since then, all socioeconomic indicators have deteriorated and conditions in Gaza are now worse.
>> https://t.co/PxSqU4d6pk pic.twitter.com/zqDvyxqwgG
— UNCTAD (@UNCTAD) September 12, 2018
Suliman told ANA:
“Statistics, including those of the United Nations point to Gaza being unliveable by the year 2020. Gazans want free movement and access to the international community. There should be no hindrance on this.”
The siege, jointly imposed with the support of Egypt, has prevented the import and export of many goods from Gaza, limited medical supplies and curtailed fishing and farming, thereby crippling the economy.
(ANA, PC, Social Media)
