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Israel plays spoilsport

JOHANNESBURG: While 29 heads of state attended the inauguration , there were some who could not make it. At the top of the list was the special envoy of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who was denied permission by Israel though the South African embassy in Tel Aviv had issued a visa. The special envoy Abdul Mallouh was to cross over to Jordan to take the flight to Johannesburg. But Israel refused permission to Mr. Mallouh to cross over to Jordan.

South Africa said it regretted Israel’s decision. “The Palestinian people like the rest of the world have a democratic right to join the people of the world in celebrating the consolidation of South Africa’s democracy,” said South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Sources here said despite feelers, South Africa did not invite the Dalai Lama.

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