The ANC has called on like-minded political parties, civil organisations to join its march to the Israeli embassy in Pretoria on Friday.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri confirmed on Wednesday that the party was ready to embark on this march against the bombardment of the people of Palestine.
The march comes just days after Palestinian officials confirmed that at least 500 people were killed in an Israeli air raid on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday.
Mbalula said its support of the people of Palestine was due to the identical Struggle against apartheid regime adding that the ANC was prepared to work with NGOs and faith-based organisations to form a global anti-apartheid movement against Israel.
Mbalula called for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice to act to address Israel’s “genocidal crimes”.
“We are calling for an investigation of this act of terror by Israel and at the same time penalties must be imposed on anyone.
“There is a penalty being imposed on the Russian president because of what is happening in Ukraine.We must stop this hypocrisy. Putin could not even come to our country because the ICC wanted us to arrest him,“ he said.
Mbalula, who was quizzed multiple times on the party’s stance on the ongoing “genocidal fight” following the bombing of a hospital allegedly by the Israeli army, said that the party’s stance would not change as the ANC identified with the pain of the people of Palestine.
On Saturday, the governing party led by its president, Cyril Ramaphosa who is also the head of state, also pledged solidarity with Palestine.
Ramaphosa told journalists at the sidelines of the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting that his country had sent condolences to both Israel and Palestine adding the ruling party shared similarities in their history as a liberation movement with the Palestinians, who were stateless in their own country.
"We stand here because we are deeply concerned about the atrocities occurring in the Middle East, and we have passed our condolences on to the people of Israel just as we are passing condolences to the people of Palestine," Ramaphosa said.
"We have a full understanding of how the people of Palestine have taken up this issue because they are people who have been under occupation for almost 75 years. They have been waiting and waging a war against a government that has been dubbed an apartheid state.“
Bhengu-Motsiri said more details of the march would follow ahead of the march.