Cape Town – DA federal chairperson and Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille has drawn criticism after sidestepping questions on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
In a televised interview, Zille said “genocide is a very big word” and that she had not been to Gaza, but maintained that Hamas has sought to obliterate Israel.
“Genocide is a very big word. I haven’t been to Gaza, and I don’t know. But I certainly do know that Hamas has spent all its energy trying to obliterate the state of Israel,” Zille said.
Pressed on the findings of a UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which said Israel’s actions meet the definition of genocide, Zille declined to give a direct answer and reiterated that the DA supports a two-state solution.
[WATCH] ‘Genocide is a very big word…’ – DA Joburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille responds to @XoliMngambi‘s question on Israel’s war on Gaza.#Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/4yoNgRcbi0
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) September 21, 2025
“The Democratic Alliance has not discussed that particular issue. What we do discuss is the issue of what we propose to solve the problem, and that is a two-state solution.”
Her comments prompted condemnation from the ANC, which accused the DA of defending Israel and undermining support for Palestine, and from the United Ulama Council of South Africa, which called her stance “morally indefensible” and said it trivialises Palestinian suffering.
“The DA has come out guns blazing to justify and support the annihilation of the Palestinian people by Israel.
“Whilst the latest UN inquiry, headed by South African judge Navi Pillay and through their own investigations, confirmed that Israel is intentionally destroying the reproductive capacity of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group, imposing measures intended to prevent births as well as to inflict conditions of life deliberately designed to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians as a people, these acts have been defined as genocide by the Rome Statute and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” The Citizen quoted ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
