Speaking to the Mail & Guardian, South Africa's deputy minister of international relations and co-operation, urged citizens not to travel to Israel because of the "treatment and policies of Israel towards the Palestinian people", Electronic Intifada reported on Monday.

Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim's comments came after a delegation of mayors and members of several KwaZulu-Natal municipalities in South-Africa cancelled a planned visit to Israel.

The cancellation of the trip was welcomed by a South-African pro-Palestinian lobby group who described the decision as "a major setback for the Israeli lobby and particularly the SA-Israel Forum" who is believed to have organized the trip.

Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, a board member of the Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement of South Africa, told Mail & Guardian that the SA-Israel Forum "has for several years been taking people from the academic, cultural, sports, business and local government sectors to Israel to forge relations for the Israeli regime."

Ndlozi encouraged other provinces and municipalities to "follow the lead of KwaZulu-Natal."