‘Peace requires honest brokerage’ in Gaza – Nelson Mandela Foundation

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JEREMY MAGGS: Now, the recent Gaza ceasefire deal has brought a mix of relief and concern according to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. While an end to the current conflict is welcomed, the root causes of the violence remain unresolved.

But what does the ceasefire mean for lasting peace? What risks remain if the underlying tensions aren’t addressed? And how does South Africa’s position on the conflict impact its global standing, trade relations and diplomatic ties. A lot of important questions.

I’m in conversation now with Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi, who’s chief executive officer of the foundation. Dr Buthelezi, a very warm welcome to you. The ceasefire obviously brings a great sense of relief, but I guess the question is, how fragile is this truce?

Read: Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire deal after 15 months of deadly conflict

MBONGISENI BUTHELEZI: That’s the big question I think that faces us, and that’s our biggest concern, that the truce lasts, that the peace that we have seen only just beginning to come back to Palestine, that it lasts. We are hoping that the temporary ceasefire can actually be made permanent. That work really begins in earnest now in good faith towards finding lasting peace.

JEREMY MAGGS: You mention systemic causes of conflict in Palestine, and all of this, of course, is very well documented. But in respect then of where we need to go in terms of moving forward, what do you think are the most urgent issues that need to be addressed?

MBONGISENI BUTHELEZI: So I think the first thing that we are hoping will happen is that the suffering that we’ve seen in Gaza since October last year is going to be stopped and stopped permanently. We are hoping also that the food deliveries that we’ve started seeing are going to be ramped up so that the people who are suffering immense hunger, whose homes have been completely destroyed, can actually just find some relief and that that relief will continue.

We are hoping that medical supplies and fuel supplies to hospitals can be ramped up again so that the immediate humanitarian needs of people in need of medical attention can be attended to.

Then more long term, it is clear that there’s a need for negotiations in earnest that are going to bring lasting peace to the region. Those negotiations we’re hoping can be brokered by people who are really interested in finding peace and not simply who are self-interested, who want to pursue their own interests.

The only way that this conflict may be resolved. The only way that we can get to a place where there isn’t perpetual instability and perpetual insecurity for both Palestinians and Israelis, is if a serious dialogue takes place towards finding lasting peace.

JEREMY MAGGS: Dr Buthelezi, using the South African example, and particularly Nelson Mandela, any negotiated agreement is predicated, I would suggest to you, on two important issues. One is trust, and the other is compromise, and both of those take a long time to build.

MBONGISENI BUTHELEZI: They do and unfortunately, in this instance, we’ve seen for a long time that there hasn’t been sufficient movement towards finding those two. The conflict has arisen partly because over time there’s been a ramping up of the discord. I think we do understand and accept that to get to a place where lasting peace is found, is going to need long conversation.

The dialogue that needs to start now in earnest is going to take time to bring us to a place where peace can be found. It’s clear that with conflict having happened, with hostages having been taken, those are points of contention and points of pain and anger, and that anger is not going to dissipate immediately. It really requires cool heads. It requires maturity. It requires people who really want to see peace to come to the fore and to lead these negotiations towards finding that lasting peace.

JEREMY MAGGS: I would add to the cool heads and maturity, also a very honest and patient process of brokerage.

MBONGISENI BUTHELEZI: I could not agree with you more. The honesty I think is absolutely critical because in the negotiations for the current ceasefire deal, it seems that there’s been some duplicity. It seems that there are people who are pursuing their own interests that are not declared.

So it will require honest brokerage in the longer run for us to move towards stability in that region and towards ending the kind of suffering that we have seen over the last months.

JEREMY MAGGS: Dr Buthelezi, South Africa has planted its flag on one side, very emphatically, it’s taken a strong stance against Israel at the ICJ [International Court of Justice]. What do you think is the broader goal of this legal action? Or do you think, as many have suggested, it’s simply symbolic?

Read: South Africa urges UN court to stop Israel from ‘destroying Gaza’

MBONGISENI BUTHELEZI: I think the broader goal is accountability. I think that’s what we need to be working towards. We need to also be taking lessons from other countries where atrocities have been created, including South Africa, where people who should be held accountable for those atrocities have not been.

That is the broader goal that I think we should be working towards. That if we do arrive at a place where we stop the suffering and there is peace, that peace cannot come with blanket amnesty for atrocities that were created in the way that we’ve seen almost happen in South Africa.

Read: South Africa invokes Mandela legacy with case against Israel

People who have been involved in violence, in deaths, who have violated international law, ultimately should be held accountable. I think that’s the basis on which an international order, an order that protects peace, but also protects the sovereignty of states and protects the rights of people needs to rest on accountability. So accountability I think should be the ultimate goal in this action.

We, I should also just add, are strong supporters of the action that South Africa has taken, taking our cue from Nelson Mandela himself, who said, freedom will be incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians. But who also I think always insisted that accountability should follow for what people have done.

JEREMY MAGGS: I’m going to leave it there. Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi, chief executive officer of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, thank you very much indeed.

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