Palestinians suffer far worse form of apartheid: Mandela's grandson

Johannesburg: Palestinians are experiencing a far worse form of apartheid than Black South Africans endured, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela told Reuters. Mandla urged the international community to come to the Palestinians' aid, Reuters reported.

The 51-year-old Mandla was about to board a flight to Tunisia from here to join a flotilla in delivering food and humanitarian supplies to people in Gaza. The attempts to deliver supplies are braving Israeli naval blockades.

Mandla told Reuters, “Many of us who 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.”

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

Israel rejected comparisons between the lives of Palestinians and the apartheid era in South Africa. Palestinians continue to live under occupation and economic blockade imposed by Zionist Israel for more than half a century, while the Black majority in South Africa were ruled by a repressive white minority government.

Israel defended its blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying that it is aiming to stop weapons from reaching Hamas, the armed group that is fighting Israel. However, the World Food Programme said that starvation is widespread in the enclave, and a quarter of the population is already fighting famine.

Mandla Mandela is going to join a group of 10 South African activists in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which includes dozens of boats and hundreds of people from 44 countries. Global Sumud Flotilla also includes Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.