SA to host Middle East conference

South Africa will once again host a group of eminent scholars and global experts to focus on the situation in the Middle East.

Pretoria has been one of the leading voices supporting the Palestinian cause and calling for a two-state solution.

Israel continues to bombard Gaza and has vowed to dismantle Hamas.

The conference seeks to ask questions around the freedom, dignity and future livelihood of both Palestinians and Israelis.

South Africa has been vocal about the situation in the Middle East and has been calling for long lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.

Some of the prominent figures who will attend the conference later this month in Johannesburg include, former President of the International Criminal Court Chile Eboe-Osuji and ex-Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salaam Fayyad.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says they will only agree to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza that guarantees the border area between Southern Gaza and Egypt is not to be used as a lifeline for Hamas.