Protesters gather outside the US Consulate in Sandton
Scores of activists are picketing outside the consulate, as part of the first-ever Palestine Solidarity Walk from Soweto.
Solidarity walk against the violence in Gaza began in Soweto on Saturday.
JOHANNESBURG - Protesters have gathered outside the US Consulate in Sandton, Johannesburg in a show of support for Palestinians caught in the Gaza war.
The picket forms part of a larger solidarity walk that began in Soweto earlier on Saturday.
Scores of activists are picketing outside the consulate, as part of the first-ever Palestine Solidarity Walk in Soweto.
The walk began at Regina Mundi catholic church in Rockville and was originally set to end at the Dlamini Mosque but protesters extended the route to the consulate, chanting “free, free Palestine” and waving Palestinian flags.
Many are wearing t-shirts bearing the face of Hector Pieterson, the 12-year-old boy killed during the 1976 Soweto uprising, drawing parallels between apartheid-era violence and the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
One of the attendees, professor Ruth Sacks said that the situation in Gaza mirrors South Africa’s painful past.
The conflict began in 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, triggering Israeli strikes that have killed thousands of Palestinians.
Organisations involved in the march include South African Jews for a free Palestine, the BDS movement, Abahlali Basemjondolo, and Africa for Palestine.