The parliament of South Africa voted on Wednesday to downgrade ties with Israel in what is a culmination of many years of rocky relations with the Jewish state, Israel Hayom reported.
The measure was backed by 208 lawmakers, while 94 opposed it. The move will see Israel’s Embassy in the capital Pretoria downgraded to a liaison office.
The measure was introduced by the National Freedom Party, which has two members in parliament, to protest what it considers to be a policy of “apartheid and discriminatory practices against Palestinian Arabs.”
“This is a moment [Mandela] would be proud of. He always said our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians,” the party said in a statement Wednesday.
“The state of Israel was built through the displacement, murder, and maiming of Palestinians. And to maintain their grip on power, they have instituted apartheid to control and manage Palestinians,” read the statement, which continued: “As South Africans, we refuse to stand by while apartheid is being perpetrated again.”
Anti-Israel sentiments remain prevalent in South Africa, where the government has frequently accused Israel of applying a policy of “apartheid” towards Palestinian Arabs.
Last year, South Africa’s former chief justice was ordered to apologize for comments he made two years earlier pledging support for Israel.
In 2019, the country announced plans to downgrade its embassy in Tel Aviv.
A year earlier, South Africa withdrew its ambassador to Israel in protest against the deadly violence along the Israel-Gaza border.

The decision came after the Hamas terrorist organization led violent and mass terrorist acts in protest against the inauguration of the new United States embassy in Jerusalem. Hamas later openly admitted that most of those who were killed in those violent riots were members of the group.
Several years ago, the ANC party proposed new rules regarding dual citizenship meant to stop South African citizens from joining the IDF.