South Africa’s parliament voted on Tuesday in favor of a draft resolution to downgrade diplomatic relations with Israel over growing deadly violence and repression against Palestinians, The New Arab reported.

Lawmakers mandated the downgrading of South Africa’s embassy in Tel Aviv to a ‘liaison office’, after a wave of raids by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank killed at least 68 Palestinians since the beginning of the year.

“As South Africans, we refuse to stand by while apartheid is being perpetrated again,” said the National Freedom Party in a statement released on Tuesday following the landmark vote.

An Israeli observer delegation at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa was kicked out of the opening ceremony on Saturday morning. pic.twitter.com/o81UyysKLL

— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) February 18, 2023

Israel faces a fractured picture over its foreign policy in Africa after a decades-long attempt at outreach, to bolster its international standing and thwart support for the Palestinian cause.

While the Sudan government has normalized ties with Israel, support for Palestinians remains strong across the continent.

In late February, Israel’s representative to the African Union was summarily expelled from the bloc’s meeting in Addis Ababa.

(The New Arab, PC)