The ongoing violent clashes between Israel and Palestine are one of the most polarising wars in history.
Over the weekend, Hamas launched a surprise offensive on Israel, reigniting the centuries-long conflict and sparking outrage worldwide.
Over 1,000 Palestinians and Israelis have been killed in an escalation of tensions and violence since Saturday morning.
Global leaders have wasted no time taking sides.
Support for Israel
US President Joe Biden has come out to support Israel, offering “whatever help is needed” to its citizens.
Many in the global community seem to have rallied around Israel following this weekend’s attack. Messages of support from world leaders include:
United Arab Emirates
France
United Kingdom
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Australia
Condemning violence
The violence of this week’s attack has left Palestine scrambling for support. Even countries that have traditionally supported Palestine have maintained a degree of diplomatic ambiguity,
They have condemned the violence and called for peace as tensions heighten.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has renewed its call to end the violence but says it supports the rights of Palestinian citizens.
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They have condemned the violence and called for peace as tensions heighten.
South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has condemned the violence without coming out in support of Isreal saying:
South Africa calls for the immediate cessation of violence, restraint, and peace between Israel and Palestine
South Africa expresses its grave concern over the recent devastating escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The new conflagration has arisen from the continued illegal occupation of Palestine land, continued settlement expansion, desecration of the Al Aqsa mosque and Christian holy sites, and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people. The region is in desperate need of a credible peace process that delivers on the calls of a plethora of previous UN resolutions for a two-state solution and a just and comprehensive peace between Israel and Palestine.
South Africa, working together with the international community, seeks to ensure a lasting and durable peace that produces a viable, contiguous Palestinian State, existing side-by-side in peace with Israel, within the 1967 internationally recognised borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
DIRCO
Countries like Russia and China have also taken the diplomatic route, condemning the violence but sticking to their policy of staying out of international conflicts outside their borders.
