From apartheid to occupation: Unveiling the global parallels of South Africa and Palestine

Gaza (Quds News Network) – The recent lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice unveils a poignant global analogy, drawing parallels between the struggles of South Africa’s black population and the resilient Palestinian people.

This comparison resonates with the historical context of racial minority rule in South Africa, where white settlers denied the indigenous population their basic human rights, implemented a reprehensible racist regime, and suppressed their political representation.

In a strikingly similar trajectory, the Palestinian plight evolved from British colonial occupation to Israeli settler-colonialism, gradually imposing a system that deprives Palestinians of their rights and undermines the prospect of an independent state, ultimately escalating to acts of genocide.

Buoyed by the global anti-colonial and anti-racist movements, and with the support of democratic and leftist parties in the West, the end of apartheid in South Africa led to a monumental political settlement.

This settlement ushered in a democratic era, allowing South Africans to govern themselves while preserving the rights and properties of the white minority. Although contentious and perceived as unjust by some, it marked the peaceful resolution of a colossal struggle against the colonial legacy.

Disasters in Europe faced by Jews, the alliance forged between the Zionist leadership and victorious Western powers during World War II, and the increasing influence of Jewish political and financial lobbies in the global capitalist system played significant roles in the establishment of Israel.

Western support for the newborn state, at various stages, transformed Israel into a formidable military, security, and financial entity of global importance for the international system and Jewish communities worldwide.

Ongoing Arab defeats, the suppression of Arab uprisings, and Donald Trump’s presidency further facilitated the normalization process with Israel, disregarding the catastrophic consequences for basic Palestinian rights amid the ongoing Palestinian catastrophe.

The events in Gaza since October 7 have brutally exposed the brutal and racist face of the Israeli occupation. These incidents have not only laid bare the moral decay of the Western political narrative but have also dismantled the Arab-Israeli conflict pretext, focusing the world’s attention on the Palestinian struggle and the imperative to end Israeli settler-colonial occupation.

Moreover, the ongoing war has revealed the overall deterioration of the Arab situation. The struggle of the Palestinians against the Israeli war machine, coupled with the geopolitical developments in the region, has broadened the Palestinian struggle and reopened the discourse on ending Israeli settler-colonialism as an essential step towards peace in Palestine and the world.