The Embassy of the State of Palestine to South Africa has rubbished claims that Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane was set to meet with leaders of the Palestine Authority during his recent visit to Israel and Palestine.
The embassy on Monday said it noted with concern inaccurate reports about the visit.
"The Embassy of the State of Palestine to South Africa would like to point out that the DA did not inform the embassy about Mr. Maimane's visit to the State of Palestine, and that the embassy became aware of the DA leader's visit through the South African media. The embassy categorically did not have any role in the recent visit, besides that, the embassy communicated with the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Ramallah city and was officially informed by the ministry that no one of PA officials or leadership were to meet with Mr. Maimane," the embassy said in a statement.
Maimane's visit to Israel created an uproar, with the African National Congress (ANC) slamming the move. The ANC said Maimane went against the international move to isolate the state which continues to abuse and undermine human rights.
The DA had said a meeting with the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas was scheduled but was cancelled by his office due to a scheduling conflict in the president's diary. That was however refuted on Monday.
The embassy further indicated that media reports about and statements by the DA delegation made no reference to actual names of Palestinian Authority officials or what positions they hold.
"In fact, it is offensive that one would travel to the occupied Palestinian territories as a guest of the occupier and on a trip facilitated by the oppressor," said the embassy, adding that it regarded with "respect and honour" the speech by President Jacob Zuma at the ANC's 105th anniversary celebration on January 8 when he "firmly discouraged travel to Israel for causes not related to fostering peace in the region".
"We welcome solidarity and impartial fact-finding visits to our country and to our people. We also believe that the correct official channels should be followed and respected," said the embassy.
ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said the embassy's statement indicated that the DA had lied, and that the misrepresentation was an attempt by the party to whitewash the "ill-conceived" visit to Israeli.
"Lying about an alleged appointment with President Abbas was a cheap attempt by the DA and Mmusi Maimane in particular to gain credibility for this visit, which has now spectacularly backfired, exposing the DA for what they are — unprincipled with a callous disregard for the Palestinian people. For an organisation that lays claim to the values of Comrade Mandela, which includes an unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people, this is hypocrisy at its worst," said Kodwa.
The DA is, however, sticking to its guns and maintains that there was a meeting scheduled. DA spokesperson Phumzile van Damme said the embassy statement was inaccurate and most unfortunate. The DA understood that the embassy had not been given a full briefing by their government, "but we would have preferred for them to contact us, or indeed their own principals, before releasing a false public statement," she said.
"The DA had a confirmed meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, and had informed South Africa's embassy in Ramallah of the meeting, and had invited South Africa's ambassador to join the meeting," she said.
Van Damme released correspondence regarding the meeting. There was e-mail communication for the meeting.
It's the second time in less than a month that the DA has had to defend a visit to another country. Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga was recently at the centre of controversy when his trip to Taipei was criticised. The Department of International Relation and Cooperation (DIRCO) said the visit was against government sanctioned travels.