Black South Africans' suffering under Apartheid nothing like Palestinian plight: Mandela's grandson

The late Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, has condemned the Israeli regime’s ongoing siege and genocide of the Palestinian people, saying that their suffering under occupation surpasses the hardships endured by Black South Africans under apartheid.

The 51-year-old political activist urged the global community to come to the aid of Palestinians, saying, "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."

"This last two years, what you've been witnessing, is a testament to that."

Mandela emphasized that when apartheid ended in 1994, it was after intense pressure and sanctions from other nations.

"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.

He made the remarks on Wednesday evening at Johannesburg Airport, where he was boarding a flight to Tunisia to join a flotilla aiming to deliver food and humanitarian supplies to Gaza, despite an 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," Mandela said.

He is joining a group of 10 South African activists in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which includes dozens of boats and hundreds of people from 44 countries, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.

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Thunberg will also sail with the Global Sumud Flotilla, joining thousands of activists in the largest maritime mission ever organized to break Israel’s siege.

On September 4, dozens of ships are expected to depart for Gaza from Tunisia and various Mediterranean ports, joining the Global Sumud Flotilla.

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress voiced support for the mission, saying it “echoes our own struggle for liberation.”

The Israeli regime has audaciously rejected comparisons between the lives of Palestinians who have been living under occupation or economic blockade for more than half a century and the apartheid era in South Africa. The Black majority was ruled by a repressive white minority government.

It has also justified its siege of Gaza and blockade of humanitarian and other goods to the enclave under the pretext of stopping weapons from reaching the militant group Hamas.

In late August, the UN officially declared famine in the Gaza Governorate, with experts warning that 500,000 people face "catastrophic" hunger, and that the Zionist regime is using starvation as a weapon against Palestinians.

The death toll from the genocide since October 2023 has topped 64,200, most of whom are women and children. Around 161,600 people have been injured.

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