ensure the flow of increased aid into Gaza and to allow more civilians to access guaranteed safety. Importantly, as the fighting rages, we call on all peace-loving South Africans to recognise the deeper conflict playing out on both sides of this terrible war. This is not a war between the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac but rather a war between radicalism which seeks the demolition of the other side and rationality, which recognises the inherent rights of both the Israelis and Palestinians to statehood, sovereignty and security. Fundamentalists on both sides of this conflict who have been stung by an explosive combination of grievances for generations and who feed off of one another to ramp up and rationalise their extremism must be rebuked by all of us. For peace to be possible, rationality rather than radicalism must win the day.

Hon members, history will remember the significance of this moment and how we either use our voices to fuel hatred and division or advocate for lasting peace. This crisis can only be brought to an end by those driven by peace, building, reconciliation and possibility. The question that all of us in this House must today ask ourselves is how we can each be honest brokers of peace because, despite the lessons imparted by the giants of our democracy, some amongst us today have already descended into the fog of war and are now entirely blinded by it.

South Africa's history should serve as a beacon of hope, reminding the world that peace and reconciliation are possible, even in the darkest of times. Instead, the governing ANC has altogether dismantled our nation's once -respected international standing and exposed its inherent moral bankruptcy. The hon Minister Pandor cannot stand at this podium and position the ANC-led government as an honest advocate for peace. The truth is that the ANC seems to have no genuine interest in building peace in the Middle East. They are only interested in using this tragedy for their own political game, hoping that they can sow division and distract the South African people from their dismal failure as our government. The Minister's recent telephone call to the leader of Hamas squandered any last remaining vestige of credibility her department had left. The hon Minister's recent visit to Iran to meet President Sayyid Ebrahim Raisolsadati who is actively funding gas and whose government has ordered the execution of more than 1 275 of their citizens since August 2021 has exposed the ANC for the hypocrites that they are. As the prospect of electoral defeat looms ever closer, the ANC stands exposed before the world as the desperate political opportunists that they have now become.

But South Africa is more than her government and we heard people can still raise our voices in support of fundamental moral propositions that Israel has a right to exist and to protect her people. That the Palestinian people have a right to live in peace, free from occupation and the threat of unyielding retaliation for crimes perpetrated by terrorists and that through a two-state solution, both Israel and Palestine can enjoy freedom and prosperity. With these aspirations as our guiding light, the international community must stand together to support restoring the security of Israel and ensure the return of hostages and the urgent provision of adequate humanitarian aid to Gaza the establishment of safe zones for displaced civilians and an urgent humanitarian pause in the fighting to ensure the free flow of aid and to allow more civilians to reach these safe zones.

World leaders need to urgently come together and start building the conditions for peace. Now is the time for leaders from across South Africa to unite based on our shared constitutional values and call for peace. Drawing on the lessons of our nation's negotiated settlement in 1994 that averted war and built peace. We encourage all South African civil, religious and political leaders to come together and offer our mutual assistance in finding a resolution to this abhorrent crisis and mapping a pathway to lasting peace in the region.

Peace is possible, but we must have the moral fortitude to stand with those who pursue it and to condemn all of those who seek to destroy it. I thank you.

Mr X NQOLA: A complete distortion of what is happening in Gaza.