Former Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Ghaleb Cachalia has called on party leader John Steenhuisen to witness the destruction in Gaza, saying that he will “certainly learn a lot”.
Cachalia resigned from the party last week, citing the “uncomfortable” party leadership as a reason for him to leave the party. He said this was fuelled by his remarks on the Israel-Hamas war.
In November last year, Cachalia was axed from the party’s shadow cabinet over Pro-Palestine remarks and tweets he made over the war.
“As a consequence, I have been fired from my position in the shadow cabinet, notwithstanding any connection between my erstwhile portfolio and the events referred to,” he said.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Cachalia said: “Dear John Steenhuisen, I’ll pay for both of us to go to Gaza. You arrange the visas and access.
“You went to Ukraine to see for yourself; come let’s go - we may even mend some fences. Hell, we’ll certainly learn a lot.“
The Ukraine reference relates to Steenhuisen's previous visit to the country during its conflict with Russia to “ascertain” for himself the situation.
“I have today arrived in the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine from where I will embark on a six-day tour of various parts of Ukraine - mostly around the capital, Kiev - to ascertain for myself the situation in a country that has been under siege from the Russian army.
Cachalia has been a vocal supporter for Palestine. This contrasts heavily to DA supports of the two-state solution. The Gaza health ministry reports significant casualties, with at least 25,105 people killed, predominantly women and children, due to Israel's ongoing bombardment and ground offensive.
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