CAPE TOWN, January 16 (ANA) – The Democratic Alliance on Monday responded to criticism from the Palestinian embassy in South Africa over DA leader Mmusi Maimane’s visit to the region by releasing a paper trial of exchanges with the Palestinian Authority presidency, and denying claims that he had been shunned by local officials.
DA spokeswoman Phumzile van Damme said the party had dealt directly with the office of President Mahmoud Abbas in setting up a meeting between him and Maimane.
“The DA had a confirmed meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mr Mahmoud Abbas, and had informed South Africa’s Embassy in Ramallah of the meeting, and had invited South Africa’s ambassador to join the meeting. This is incontrovertible,” she said.
According to the DA, the meeting was cancelled because of a scheduling conflict on Mahmoud’s side and Van Damme said the party was not aware of any directive to Palestinian officials not to meet with Maimane.
“However, it is revealing that the Embassy’s statement says that there was an instruction issued not to meet with the DA. We will certainly be following up with them to ascertain exactly who issued this instruction, as it was not conveyed to us at any point,” she said.
In its statement, the embassy said it “categorically did not have any role in the recent visit”, besides that it communicated with the Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs in Ramallah and was then formally informed that Palestinian officials were not to meet with Maimane.
It added that the DA had failed to furnish the names of any officials that had purportedly met with Maimane.
To the embassy’s complaint that it was not informed of Maimane’s visit to the Palestinian Territories, Van Damme said this was normal as South Africans do not need a visa.
She said it appeared that the Palestinian embassy had not been briefed properly by their own government and it was regrettable that it issued a “false public statement” without conferring with the party or with its own principals.
The DA said Maimane had in fact met with Palestinian business leaders and rights activists and visited refugees in Ramallah.
The Palestinian embassy said it was “offensive that one would travel to the occupied Palestinian territories as a guest of the occupier and on a trip facilitated by the oppressor”.
The embassy expressed support for a call by President Jacob Zuma earlier this month to refrain from travelling to Israel, unless it were for the purpose of contributing to peace efforts in the region.
The week-long visit has angered the South African government and ruling party, which suggested it made a mockery of the DA’s official position of supporting a two state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In the correspondence with Abass’s office, the DA said the aim of the visit was develop economic ties with Israeli and Palestinian entities, to appraise the DA of systems it could implement in South African municipalities under its control, and to gain a greater understanding of both nations with a view understanding how it could advance peace in the region.
– African News Agency (ANA)
