Cape Town religious leaders sign declaration, call for peace days after tense Sea Point gathering

Just days after a tense gathering in Sea Point ended in chaos, religious leaders signed a joint statement in which they agreed that residents have a constitutional right to "pray as they choose, and to gather peacefully without feeling threatened".

On Saturday, pro-Palestinian supporters held a massive march to protest against constant bombardment in the Gaza Strip in Palestine, which went ahead peacefully and without incident. The following day, however, a prayer meeting for Israel in Sea Point had to be cancelled before it could start, and police, pro-Palestine and pro-Israel supporters clashed. At least three people were arrested and later released without being charged.

With the Sea Point clash still fresh, religious leaders representing all the major faiths gathered at the City of Cape Town's annual interfaith dialogue on Tuesday evening at the Cape Town Civic Centre, where they committed to the joint statement.