Ramaphosa slams Israel, calls for release of Mandela’s grandson seized in Gaza flotilla
Before joining the flotilla, Mandla Mandela compared the plight of Palestinians under Israeli occupation to apartheid in South Africa.
South Africa has demanded the immediate release of activists detained by Israel after its navy intercepted the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters on Wednesday. Among those arrested was Nkosi Zwelivelile "Mandla" Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela.
The flotilla was reportedly stopped about 70 nautical miles off the Gaza coast, where Israeli forces boarded the vessels and redirected them to an Israeli port.
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The boats, carrying hundreds of international activists—including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg—were transporting humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Condemned interception
In a statement on X, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the interception as both a violation of international law and a breach of an International Court of Justice order requiring unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza.
"On behalf of our government and nation, I call on Israel to immediately release the South Africans abducted in international waters, and to release other nationals who have tried to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid," said Ramaphosa.
"The interception violates the sovereignty of every nation whose flag was flown on the dozens of vessels in the flotilla. It also violates an International Court of Justice injunction that humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow unimpeded."
Lift Gaza blockade
Ramaphosa added that South Africa supports the call by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza urgently, and urged Tel Aviv to ensure the life-saving cargo carried by the flotilla reaches the enclave.
The confrontation further strains relations between South Africa and Israel, with Pretoria already pursuing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over the war in Gaza.
Before joining the flotilla, Mandla Mandela compared the plight of Palestinians under Israeli occupation to apartheid in South Africa.
"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," he told Reuters earlier this month.
"We believe that the global community has to continue supporting the Palestinians, just as they stood side-by-side with us."
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