Pro-Palestinian activists gathered outside the Western Cape provincial legislature on Tuesday, accusing the provincial government of undermining South Africa’s official stance on Israel. The demonstration was led by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which said the province and the DA were out of step with Pretoria’s position, including South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

The protest lands in an already tense diplomatic climate. South Africa’s relations with Israel have deteriorated sharply in recent months, including Pretoria’s decision in January 2026 to expel Israel’s top diplomat from the country.

Activists say province is contradicting national policy

PSC coordinator Usuf Chikta accused the DA and the provincial government of acting as “collaborators” by refusing to support South Africa’s ICJ case and by maintaining relations with Israel. He said activists believe South African sovereignty is being undermined by political actors inside the Government of National Unity who want to shift the country’s foreign policy direction.

Chikta also criticised the provincial legislature and the City of Cape Town for lighting buildings in the colours of the Ukrainian flag but not the Palestinian flag. He said activists want the Western Cape government to adopt a full boycott, divestment and sanctions programme and halt all trade with Israel. He added that protests would continue ahead of Nakba Day commemorations on 16 May.

ANC backs concerns raised by protesters

ANC leader in the provincial legislature Khalid Sayed said the campaign forms part of wider efforts to build what he called an inclusive Western Cape rooted in international solidarity. He said the opposition would raise the concerns inside the legislature and accused the DA-led provincial government of contradicting and undermining the national government’s position on Palestine.

Those remarks reflect a broader political fault line inside South Africa, where foreign policy on Israel has become tied not only to international law and solidarity politics, but also to domestic tensions inside coalition-era politics. That is an inference based on the protest’s framing and the ANC-DA clash reported in the source.

DA rejects the political attack

The DA’s provincial spokesperson, Matthew Sims, did not directly address the accusations about Israel. Instead, he said the party remained committed to democratic governance and said the DA had shown across the country that it could be trusted to deliver quality services. He said voters would have a choice between failed governance and continued DA delivery in November.

For now, the protest has sharpened a politically charged question in the Western Cape: whether provincial symbolism and political messaging on Israel can be separated from South Africa’s national foreign policy stance. With activists promising more demonstrations, that argument is unlikely to fade soon.