Wednesday, 13 August 2025.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) joins all progressive organisations in condemning Israel’s recent declaration of militarily control the entire Gaza Strip and to occupy Gaza City. Benjamin Netanyahu’s declared intent to militarily control the entire Gaza Strip and occupy Gaza City represents a continuation of illegal expansion and an intensification of apartheid Israel’s campaign of genocide against Palestinians.

This is Israel’s third military occupation of Gaza with the explicit aim of having “Gaza without its people”. Gaza is already the largest refugee camp on Earth, home to two million people, many of whom are refugees from the Nakba in 1948, when over 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes. Past Israeli military operations in Gaza, such as the 1956 massacres in refugee camps, were warned by UN officials as amounting to an act of genocide intended to wipe out Gaza’s refugee population. This history laid the foundation for Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians that continues unabated today.

The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli occupation and settlements illegal. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July 2024 declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories unlawful, citing violations of international law, including the prohibition of acquisition of territory through force, the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, and the prohibition on apartheid or racial segregation. The UN Security Council and General Assembly have repeatedly affirmed that Israeli settlements have no legal validity and are a flagrant violation of international law.

The current campaign has effectively destroyed approximately 90% of the Gaza Strip, turning it into a wasteland and rendering it uninhabitable. This systematic destruction, including the demolition of homes by well-paid civilian contractors, is a deliberate strategy to ensure Palestinians would have nowhere to go back to and would be forced to leave their homeland. This aligns with Netanyahu’s rejection of Palestinian statehood and pursuit of a Greater Israel for maximum land, and minimum Arabs, explicitly aiming to empty Gaza of its Palestinian population.

The EFF calls on the ANC-led South African government to act within its legal and moral obligation to take the lead in implementing sanctions and the suspension of trade and diplomatic relations in order to stop Israel’s atrocities, and to pressure the ICJ to bring Israeli officials to justice.

ISSUED BY ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Sinawo Thambo (National Spokesperson) 072 629 7422

Thembi Msane (National Spokesperson) 061 467 8169

Andiswa Madikazi (Parliament Media Liason) 069 516 4924

Thato Lebyane (Media Inquiries) 078 563 1581