Youth activists shut down Cape Town’s civic center in protest of Israeli genocide

Cape Town (Quds News Network) – In a bold demonstration of solidarity with the people of Gaza, youth activists staged a protest that temporarily shut down Cape Town’s Civic Centre, the local government headquarters, on Friday. The action was a response to the city’s leadership’s silence on the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
Protesters, organized by the Cape Youth Collective in collaboration with Equal Education and Youth for Al-Quds, initiated the demonstration after the Democratic Alliance (DA) party, governing the city, declined to support South Africa’s application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to charge Israel with genocide.
The DA stated that any country has the right to approach the ICJ but criticized the African National Congress government for allegedly ignoring human rights violations within its own borders.
The demonstration, which began with a ‘die-in’ on the floor of the Civic Centre’s central lobby underneath a portrait of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, coincided with Israel’s lawyers responding to the genocide charge at the ICJ.
Occupying the lobby for nearly two hours, demonstrators chanted pro-Palestine slogans, including, “DA, DA, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today?” The center-right DA, the largest opposition party nationally, leads both the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape province governments.
Abeedah Adams, the Western Cape provincial secretary of the General Industries Workers’ Union of South Africa, highlighted the importance of protesting at the City of Cape Town local authority. She drew a connection between the DA’s apparent opposition to Palestine solidarity actions and its alleged neglect for working-class communities in Cape Town.
Adams recounted a recent incident where the city council dispatched an anti-graffiti brigade to the Cape Flats to remove a Palestinian flag from a council flat, citing it as council property. She contrasted this with the city’s response to pressing issues in working-class communities, such as gang violence, where resources were lacking.
Cape Town safety and security chief JP Smith responded to the incident, saying, “In terms of this specific incident, a complaint was received, and the graffiti unit was activated. Community members responsible for the mural have agreed to apply for permission to have the mural reinstalled following an engagement with graffiti unit officials.”
The protest in Cape Town unfolded on the eve of a global weekend of action calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, underscoring the international solidarity surrounding the Palestinian cause.