The University of Venda (Univen) hosted a public lecture by the ambassador of the State of Palestine to South Africa, Mr Hashem Dajani, at the Univen art gallery last Friday.
Dajani said that the situation of the Palestinian people under the Israeli occupation remained dire as a result of repressive, destructive and colonial policies and practices. He added that Israel continued to persecute Palestinians with its colonial policies in a deliberate, systematic and grave violation of international laws. He said that the international community continued to fail to hold Israel accountable in accordance with the law.
Dajani added that the situation had deepened the sense of insecurity among the Palestinian people. He claimed that Israel continued to destroy Palestinian cities and villages and hold thousands of Palestinians in its prisons. He continued to allude that Israel "persists with its illegal and immoral blockage" on Gaza, which continues to gravely impact about two million Palestinian civilians who are suffering a dire socio-economic and humanitarian crisis.
He has thanked South Africa for the role that it plays in leading the international solidarity with the Palestinian people on behalf of Palestinians.
"The Israeli invasion of Palestine and apartheid settler colonialism raise important questions about the sovereignty of states," said former vice-chancellor of Univen, Prof Muxe Nkondo. He added that the fear of western domination was the main concern, particularly after the disintegration of the Eastern block, "which has created a monopoly capitalist global system controlled by the United States."
He concluded by saying that anticolonial social movements in Palestine and South Africa were a product of the widespread regional belief that sovereignty and self-government could not be achieved within the Western-dominated regional order.