A Palestinian man waits before crossing into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Eyad Baba)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Students at South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand say they are adopting an academic and cultural boycott of Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

A statement Monday says the school's student representative council is calling for an immediate investigation into any academic, financial and cultural relations with Israeli institutions.

The University of Johannesburg last year became the world's first to impose an academic boycott on Israel, ending its relationship with Ben-Gurion University.

South Africa's government angered Israel three months ago by issuing instructions that goods imported from Israeli West Bank settlements not be labeled "product of Israel."

Many South Africans equate the Israeli treatment of Palestinians with their former apartheid regime's abuse of blacks.

Associated Press
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