On Thursday, 30 January 2020 South Africa welcomed efforts aimed at resolving the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a peace plan that US President Donald Trump announced this week.
“It is only initiatives developed with the full participation of the people of Palestine that can achieve lasting peace, and remains consistent in its view that genuine, inclusive, and open dialogue can resolve the current impasse,” the South African Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement.
The Ministry added: “In addition, South Africa is of the view that processes begin through genuinely committed dialogue aimed at determining lasting solutions.”
According to the statement, the South African Government reiterated its support to international efforts aimed at the establishment of a viable Palestinian state existing side by side in peace with Israel within internationally recognised borders.
This must be based on borders existing as of 4 June 1967, prior to the outbreak of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, with East Jerusalem as its capital – in line with all relevant UN resolutions, international law and internationally agreed parameters, the diplomacy said.
The Ministry said South Africa maintained its position that any peace plan should not allow Palestinian statehood to devolve into an entity devoid of sovereignty, territorial contiguity and economic viability.
“Doing so would severely compound the failure of previous peace-making efforts, accelerate the demise of the two-state option and fatally damage the cause of a durable peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike,” Pretoria concluded.
– APA
