De Klerk warns Israel about apartheid
South Africa’s last president under white rule has suggested that Israel risks heading toward apartheid if it does not reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.
The comments by FW de Klerk echo warnings from Palestinian, American and dovish Israeli officials. But his words carry special meaning, given his role in South Africa’s painful history of race relations.
De Klerk was the last president under apartheid and along with the late Nelson Mandela, brought about the end to decades of systematic racial discrimination against black people, jointly winning the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.
Comparisons to South Africa’s racist rule have increased in public discourse about Israel and its treatment of Palestinians. In April, US Secretary of State John Kerry – who had been mediating negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians – created uproar when he made a similar warning.
http://mg.co.za/article/2014-05-28-de-klerk-warns-israel-about-apartheid
