 Asalaamu alaikum brothers and sisters, welcome to another episode of the open-minded figure show on the episode today. We're going to be talking about South Africa. This is the only country that comes to mind. Immediately, the Palestinian crisis escalates because if these are the country that for many years bared the brunt of apartheid regime, you know, running the country and preventing it from progressing and preventing the ordinary people, the real citizens of South Africa from, you know, being part of the government, from progressing from being part of the social fabric. So therefore, garlandly succeeded in defeating the apartheid regime of South Africa. South Africans are seeing things from a different perspective entirely and that is that a group of people came from nowhere and created a state in people's territory. You can see this is the National Executive Committee. All of us standing here pledging our solidarity with the people of Palestine. We stand here because we are deeply concerned about the atrocities that are unfolding in the Middle East and we have passed our condolences to the people of Israel as we are passing our condolences to the people of Palestine. And we have a full understanding of how the people of Palestine have taken up this issue because they are people as many countries and leaders in the world have opined that they have been under occupation for almost 75 years and people under occupation who have been waging a struggle against an oppressive government that has occupied their land but also a government that has in recent times been dubbed an apartheid state as people and an organization that has struggled against an oppressive system of apartheid. We do pledge solidarity with the Palestinians and as the African National Congress we have always pledged our solidarity with them and we have always insisted that the only solution for the problems in the Middle East particularly between Israel and Palestine is a two-state solution. I am a strong advocate for peace in the Palestinian Peninsula. I have never seen any alternative to Israel allowing peace to reign in the Peninsula by stopping to seize or take over people's land for whatever reason they are attributing that action to. But the media especially the mainstream media has been very very disappointing. I mean they've made the Palestinian Israeli comfort look like an Israeli terrorist war based on the 1967 borders as approved by the world community and the United Nations. Now the violation of the rights of the Palestinians that has manifested itself through the occupation of their land through bringing in settlers so close and into their land is something that is causing a great deal of concern and has possibly sparked off this conflict that is now unfolding. The atrocities that are happening now where the residences of people in that part of the world are being raised to the floor, pregnant mothers are not even able to give birth in a respectable manner, hospitals are being raised to the floor and but the worst part is when the Israeli government now says 1.1 million people must evacuate the northern part of Gaza. Having closed all the exit routes now we do believe that this is a serious matter of great gravity and concern and to this end we've called on the international community the United Nations and all other concerned international bodies to make sure that peace is installed in Palestine and that the Israeli government is directed at withdrawing this command of getting people out of the northern part of Gaza because it is in the end going to amount to almost genocide as many people are going to die as we speak now almost half a million people who are Palestinians have been displaced they've been removed from their homes they live in schools and other areas as well this is the most tragic situation and almost dangerous situation that the people of Palestine have been exposed to and we have called for the humanitarian corridors to be open so that food water and electricity I can believe that the world is at the stage of begging Israel to release water electricity especially as the winter is fast approaching for the people of Gaza I do not know that there will be a strong silence from the world I mean when I talk about the world I'm talking about Europe America and some of this country is a preach freedom human right in one of you that there will be quiet that there will be silence while Israel is conducting one of the I mean brutal military operation where there are a lot of civilians whether it's civilian concentration frankly I can believe this myself I record last year when Russia started to target some areas in Ukraine especially as a winter was approaching and I watched what the president of the European Union von der Leyen said about the incident of targeting civilian infrastructure targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure with a clear aim to cut off men women children of water electricity and heating with the winter coming these are acts of pure terror and we have to call it as such you could see how she was very vocal in condemning Russia for targeting you know electricity infrastructure water infrastructure notwithstanding that Russia really has not used the kind of brutal tactics that Israel is employing you know in Gaza today we definitely know that terrorist attacks have been carried out against Russia we have to be sure of that the Nord Stream pipeline was blown up on many theories linked it up to seven people but russia never went brutal against you know the civilian population of Ukraine they never did that the only people that target civilians or pull as potions on civilians for what terrorists did or whatever you call them are terrorists themselves so the Palestinian people deserve the best and that's what another South African politician said I begin by thanking the comrades from Palestine who have spoken and I greet the most warmly welcome to South Africa I also greet comrade Ronny Castro's a veteran who doesn't hire I don't know where you get this energy he sends me messages at 3 am you must issue a statement on this why are you saying nothing on that comrade Ronny there you are he takes advantage because he knew my father he thinks that he's my father but I'm very glad to be here I begin by saying the world is a very troubled place and I don't want us to pretend that it is easy it's not we are faced with a very challenged world I realize this when in 2021 I was sitting in a summit of the executive council of the African Union and it was whispered to me that the African Union Commission chairperson had issued an invitation to Israel to become an observer at the African Union imagine my horror I decided at that moment that I would raise my arm and would propose that this decision be rescinded I walked around the room seeking supporters of the 54 nations I got three and I include Sadek in that but I said nevertheless this is not going to happen I therefore lifted my arm and said I wish to table a matter I have learned of this and as South Africa we object to it and it must not be implemented we want our leaders to discuss it and we will never accept it as South Africa and while we appreciate the role that the Organization of African Unity played in us achieving our freedom as South Africa this decision of the AU Commission chairperson will make us consider whether we can be present in the African Union I thought I would get support from many of the countries gathered in the room but what I discovered is that countries that are oppressors that continue to be colonial occupiers are using financial muscle to provide grant in aid to African countries and secure the depoliticized support of African countries for these oppressive nations among them Israel and Morocco they're playing a very negative role in Africa and comrades I'm being frank here because you in this room you are supposed to be trade union leaders many of you or you lead progressive organizations and you are failing in your duty well she has said a lot of things and I believe that uh everybody is seeing it right now the hypocrisy these in the Israeli Palestinian conflict lately is something frankly that no one never no one would actually appreciate this is really very bad because we're talking about human lives here while we condemn any sort of violence we'll believe that the brutality with which Israel is conducting its military operation is out of the blues I mean it's out of the sky I mean this is something that the world needs to condemn this is something that European Union America and some of this country is the pride themselves in human rights needs to condemn South Africa is standing up for Palestine and all the oppressed people in Africa and the global south I think people are beginning to rethink and see things from different perspective and why the mainstream media tries to make it look like an equal war between Palestine and a nuclear armed country like Israel we're coming to understand the Dar es Norte I think it's a misrepresentation one of the parties in this conflict I've been occupied I've been subjugated I've been subjected to renewed colonialism and the occupation of the land while the other ones are just settlers that came from who got knows where occupy people's land and continue to encroach in people's access to home justice and peace we prevail at the end of the day kudos to South Africa for doing this kudos to South Africa for standing for Palestine and the entire world is standing by Palestine at this very critical moment please like share and subscribe to this channel if you haven't done so already we hope to see you in our next update assalamu alaikum