Zwelivelile Mandela has called for global solidarity with Palestine, drawing parallels to the anti-Apartheid movement
In an exclusive interview with RT, Zwelivelile Mandela, a South African MP and grandson of Nelson Mandela, has criticized the unwavering support that certain Western countries, particularly the US and UK, have given to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This comes shortly after an Israeli attack on Sunday which targeted a tent camp in the Gaza city of Rafah and reportedly caused mass civilian casualties.
He drew a historical parallel to the support once extended by former UK PM Margaret Thatcher and former US President Ronald Reagan to the Apartheid regime in South Africa.
“The civil society rose against their own government in support of our struggle for liberation, coming and rallying behind the anti-Apartheid movement as well as the Free Nelson Mandela campaign, which ensured that we were able to rally the global community behind us and to bring Apartheid South Africa to its knees,” Mandela said.
“Netanyahu would not be so bold and arrogant” without the support that he’s continuously had from the allies in the West, particularly from the US and UK, he explained.
Mandela also highlighted the recent disregard by Israel of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “The court ordered Israel to halt its offensive last week… [but] Israel has so far completely ignored the ICJ ruling and continued with its offensive in Gaza.”
Reflecting on South Africa’s liberation struggle, he emphasized the effectiveness of international solidarity and the tactical use of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions.
According to Mandela, there is “the need to ensure that the global community is mobilized and is playing a significant role to boycott, divest, and have sanctions against the Zionist entity comes from our own experience.”
In 1997, during a visit to Gaza, Nelson Mandela expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people, stating that Africans’ freedom is “incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” Echoing his grandfather’s words, Zwelivelile Mandela said: “We have committed ourselves to be that generation that will liberate Palestine in our lifetime.”
The conflict between Israel and Hamas started on October 7, when the Gaza-based group launched a surprise raid into the south of the country, killing some 1,200 people and taking approximately 250 hostages. More than 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed so far amid Israel’s operation to destroy the militant group, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
