The BRICS group called for an immediate and prolonged humanitarian truce in Gaza. This was during a summit held on Tuesday in Pretoria and the chair, South Africa, accused Israel of war crimes and ‘genocide’ in the Palestinian territory.
BRICS is a group of the major emerging economies and incudes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This meeting was aimed at finding a response to the Israel-Hamas conflict that is currently ongoing.
“We called for an immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities,” the group said in a summary of the meeting.
The fight in Gaza was caused by an attack by the Hamas group on Israel. This attack killed over 1200 people leading to the retaliation from Israel. The attack from Hamas was marked one of the deadliest attacks on Israel in its history.
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“The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime. The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In addition to the immediate call for a truce, South African lawmakers voted to suspend their diplomatic ties to Israel. This includes the closing down of the Israeli embassy in Pretoria. It also involves suspending all diplomatic relations until a ceasefire is agreed in its war with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza.
Israel-Hamas Truce
On Tuesday, the leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh mentioned that a truce agreement with Israel was in sight. They mentioned that the Qatar mediator was leading them through negotiations to free hostages seized by the Hamas group.
Leaders and representatives of BRICS said a long-term diplomatic solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was needed to ensure peace, with Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for an “international peace conference” to achieve that goal.
“There can be no sustainable peace and security in the Middle East without a just solution to the question of Palestine,” Xi said, speaking through an interpreter.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a 4-day Truce in Gaza. 50 hostages held in Gaza would be released in exchange for the 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. This would also allow for the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.
South Africa has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party often linking it to its own struggle against apartheid.
Most countries commenting on the fight are in support for a two-state solution. This would mean that Israel and Palestine would be separated entirely and not share any region. The people of Palestine would be in charge of their own governance and political decisions.
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