S. Africa Christian leaders say world 'snoozed' on Palestinian struggle

South African Christian leaders have reiterated their support for Palestine after returning from a trip to Bethlehem, raising concerns about Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

On Thursday, Reverend Frank Chikane spoke of his group's recent trip to the Israeli-occupied territory in a press conference following the group's arrival in Johannesburg. 

“The world snoozed on the plight of Palestinians who have been brutalised, killed and occupied from as far back as 1948,” Chikane said. 

"I kept saying people were dying there. Why don't we act? Will you wait until somebody crosses over to Israel, and then it becomes news? And this is what the Palestinians are saying, which is that they are not treated as human beings, and it's only when the Israelis are affected that the world makes headlines.”   

Described as a “a mercy trip to the Holy Land”, Chikane and other members of the Christian delegation met with their Palestinian counterparts in the region, as well as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. 

Chikane said a member of the Christian delegation was almost stripped naked by Israeli forces during a stop and search. 

“Palestinian authorities cannot arrest an Israeli, but they can arrest Palestinians. They can arrest the Palestinians and take them to Israel and that was the experience,” he said. 

“When you are in that place, you know what to do. I am giving you a sense of the state for the Palestinian people,” Chikane said. 

The Christian leader argued that Hamas’ unprecedented 7 October attack on Israel amounted to "retaliating for decades of oppression by the apartheid Israel state”. 

RT @PalestineChron "A delegation of Christian leaders from around the world, including a cohort from South Africa, are to spend Christmas in Bethlehem in a demonstration of solidarity with Palestinians in the occupied territories, as well as the Gaza… pic.twitter.com/bJHrUuffQx"

— Richard Hardigan (@RichardHardigan) December 22, 2023

Around 1,140 people were killed in the attack, according to Israeli authorities. 

Accusing the United States of complicity in the conflict, the reverend added that Washington and Tel Aviv's actions have increased support for the Palestinian group. 

"People who didn't support Hamas now do because they are saying [Israel] is killing our people in Gaza. It is a strategic mistake that the United States and Israel are making," Chikane said.   

South Africa’s Anglian church representative Nkululeko Conco said their group supports an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, stating that a ceasefire was necessary for Gazans to efficiently access urgent humanitarian aid. 

"Only when there is a ceasefire can other steps be taken to rebuild and focus on people's immediate needs. With the current situation, people cannot access healthcare. There is no electricity, and there is no food. We need the ceasefire to restore relatively normal life," said Conco.  

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said Friday at least 21,507 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since war with Israel broke out on October 7. 

The figure includes 187 fatalities over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said. It added that 55,915 people have been wounded in Gaza. 

The UN says more than 80 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been driven from their homes.  

Many now live in cramped shelters in the tiny territory or in makeshift tents around Rafah, near Egypt. 

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said 308 people seeking shelter in their facilities have additionally been killed during the war.