Mandela's grandson joins Gaza Flotilla, calls for global solidarity with Palestinians

Mandla Mandela, grandson of South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, has described the conditions faced by Palestinians under Israeli occupation as "far worse" than those experienced by Black South Africans during apartheid, calling for intensified global solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Speaking to Reuters from Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport, Mandela, 51, was en route to Tunisia to join the Global Sumud Flotilla—a coalition of international activists attempting to deliver food and humanitarian aid to Gaza in defiance of the Israeli naval blockade.

“Many of us that have visited the occupied territories in Palestine have only come back with one conclusion: that the Palestinians are experiencing a far worse form of apartheid than we ever experienced,” Mandela said.

“We believe that the global community has to continue supporting the Palestinians, just as they stood side-by-side with us.”

Israel has consistently rejected comparisons between its policies in the occupied Palestinian territories and South African apartheid, defending its stringent controls over Gaza on the grounds of national security and preventing arms deliveries to Hamas, the militant group that governs the enclave.

However, humanitarian organizations have warned of dire conditions in Gaza. The World Food Program reports widespread starvation, and an independent hunger monitoring body estimates that one-quarter of Gaza’s population is suffering from famine.

Mandela is part of a delegation of ten South African activists participating in the flotilla, which includes dozens of vessels and hundreds of participants from 44 nations, among them Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. The flotilla aims to deliver urgently needed supplies to Gaza in a symbolic and logistical challenge to the ongoing blockade.

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) expressed support for the initiative, stating the mission “echoes our own struggle for liberation.”

Reflecting on the international campaign that helped end apartheid in South Africa, Mandela emphasized the need for similar pressure to be applied against Israel.

“They isolated apartheid South Africa and finally collapsed it. We believe that the time has come for that to be done for the Palestinians,” he said.

By Vafa Guliyeva