Cape Town - “Al-Quds Al-Arabi”: Zwelifile Mandela, the grandson of the late South African President Nelson Mandela, expressed his disappointment with the Arab countries, because of their position on his country’s lawsuit against Israel in the International Court of Justice .
He said in an exclusive interview with Al-Quds Al-Arabi: “We are completely disappointed in the Arab countries because of their weak position in supporting South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice” to hold Israel accountable for the genocidal crimes it is committing in Gaza.
Mandela, the grandson, explained that “during our struggle for freedom in South Africa, our neighboring countries such as Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia, and all poor countries, were the front line for us until we achieved freedom.”
Therefore, Mandela directed his speech to the Arab countries, saying, “You must also learn the lesson from these countries, so that you are able to play an effective role so that we see a free State of Palestine during our lifetime.”
Mandela, who is also a member of his country's parliament for the African National Congress, confirmed that his late grandfather expressed a real commitment to the Palestinians when he said: “The freedom of South Africa will not be complete without the freedom of Palestine.” The grandson added: “I believe that we are the generation that will witness the fulfillment of this promise.” In reality".
He continued: “We are committed to the pledge made by Mandela to achieve the freedom of Palestine, and therefore we offer our full support to the Palestinian resistance and to the Palestinian people in Gaza and the occupied territories, and also to the refugees in the diaspora.”
In this context, Mandela said: “Just as we did before when we destroyed the apartheid regime in South Africa, through our unity and bringing all our efforts together, we believe in our ability to destroy the apartheid state of Israel,” he said.
Mandela appreciated the decision of the International Court of Justice regarding the genocide committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, adding that “we hope that racist Israel will be held accountable for its crimes against humanity, which it has been committing against the Palestinians for 76 years.”
He considered what happened in The Hague to be “a historic victory for South Africa to ensure that the Israeli apartheid regime is held accountable.”
While his country’s government is working on the issue of “genocide,” Mandela points out that much work is still required at the grassroots level, to create more pressure to boycott “racist Israel” and impose sanctions on it, calling on supporters of the Palestinian people in his country and abroad to coordinate their efforts so that “ “We ensure that apartheid Israel is isolated and ultimately defeated.”
The occupation is studying alternatives to evacuating Palestinians from Rafah and mounting international warnings
At a time when the Israeli occupation is studying alternatives to evacuating Palestinians from Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, in preparation for a military operation, warnings have escalated about the repercussions of the invasion, and Arab and Islamic countries and organizations have expressed their rejection of the plan.
Hebrew media revealed that the Israeli security establishment is studying alternatives to the process of evacuating Palestinians from Rafah, while warnings from Arab and Islamic countries and organizations have escalated about the repercussions of the Israeli invasion of the city, amid demands for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss an immediate ceasefire.
The official Hebrew Broadcasting Corporation said on Saturday that the security establishment in Israel is studying "alternatives" for the evacuation of Palestinians from Rafah, to enable the possible ground operation to be carried out in the city located south of the Gaza Strip.
The commission did not discuss what the “other alternatives” were, but indicated that “Tel Aviv is interested in moving in Rafah militarily before the month of Ramadan,” claiming that it represents a possibility of escalation.
The Broadcasting Authority reported that Israel informed a number of countries in the region and the United States that it was preparing for military activity in the Rafah area, which was met with widespread international rejection.
According to the commission, “Due to the demands of Cairo and Washington, the ground operation in Rafah will not begin until two conditions are met. The first: a large-scale evacuation of citizens from Rafah and its surroundings, and the second: an agreement between Tel Aviv and Egypt regarding the Israeli army’s activity against the tunnels in the Philadelphia axis.”
International estimates indicate that between 1.2 and 1.4 million Palestinians are in Rafah after the Israeli army forced hundreds of thousands of residents of the northern Gaza Strip to flee to the south.
On Saturday, the Hamas movement warned of a massacre in Rafah, with Israel continuing its heavy bombardment and its Prime Minister issuing directives to prepare a plan to evacuate civilians from the city, which raised international fear of a possible ground attack.
On Saturday, witnesses reported raids in the vicinity of Rafah, where about 1.3 million Palestinians are gathered, meaning more than half of Gaza’s population. The vast majority of them are displaced people who fled violence in the northern and central Gaza Strip following the outbreak of war more than four months ago.
International warnings and Arab rejection
For their part, Arab countries and organizations warned of the repercussions of the Israeli invasion of Rafah, amid demands for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss an immediate ceasefire in the Strip.
Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina called on Washington to take “serious action to stop the Israeli madness,” with Tel Aviv preparing to invade Rafah Governorate, the last refuge for displaced people in the Gaza Strip, according to what was reported by the Palestinian News Agency.
He said that what is required of the American administration is to force the occupation to stop the "genocidal massacres" it is committing against the Palestinian people, the most recent of which is what happened in the city of Rafah, in which 25 were martyred and dozens were wounded, which will push matters to the "brink of the abyss."
Meanwhile, the Saudi Foreign Ministry stressed its categorical rejection and strong condemnation of the deportation of hundreds of thousands of civilians who were forcibly displaced by the brutal Israeli aggression, renewing its demand for an immediate ceasefire.
Saudi Arabia said, "This continued violation of international law and international humanitarian law confirms the necessity of convening the Security Council urgently to prevent Israel from causing an imminent humanitarian catastrophe for which everyone who supports the aggression bears responsibility."
The UAE Foreign Ministry expressed its deep concern about the Israeli army’s plans to launch a military operation in Rafah. It warned of the occurrence of more innocent victims and the worsening humanitarian catastrophe that the Strip is witnessing.
It also called on the international community to make all efforts without delay to reach an immediate ceasefire and avoid further inflaming the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.
For its part, the Qatari Foreign Ministry condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli threats to storm Rafah, warning of "a humanitarian catastrophe in the city." She called on the UN Security Council to take urgent action to prevent the invasion of Rafah and committing genocide in the city.
Kuwait expressed its concern about “Israel’s plans to attack the city of Rafah,” and affirmed its position calling for the need for the international community and the Security Council to shoulder their responsibilities in protecting defenseless Palestinian civilians.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned, in press statements, of developments in the situation in Rafah Governorate on the Egyptian border, saying that it “portends a deterioration in the sector, with dire repercussions.”
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry also warned in a statement against Israel's invasion of the city of Rafah, and renewed its "absolute rejection" of the displacement of Palestinians.
She stressed the need for the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities without delay to prevent dangerous deterioration and impose an immediate ceasefire.
In a related context, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry called in a statement for international intervention to prevent plans for mass forced displacement in Gaza and the need to stop military operations against the Palestinians.
It confirmed that it is following with great concern the news that confirms that the Israeli occupation authority is planning to commit a new humanitarian catastrophe and massacre through its forces carrying out a military operation in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
The Yemeni Foreign Ministry warned, in a statement, of the occupation army’s preparations to storm the city of Rafah, stressing that “this barbaric crime will have serious security repercussions on security and peace.”
Organizations warn
In addition, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned, in a statement, the plan to expand the military aggression against the city of Rafah, warning that “this comes within the framework of genocide and will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and mass massacres.”
The organization renewed its call on the international community, especially the UN Security Council, to assume its responsibilities towards stopping the Israeli aggression immediately and comprehensively.
The Gulf Cooperation Council also rejected in a statement “the declared intentions of Israel regarding storming Rafah after forcibly deporting the civilian population from it,” stressing that this threatens to escalate levels of destabilization and security in the region, and lead to further deterioration and suffering for the Palestinian people.
In turn, the Arab League warned in a statement of the dangerous consequences of the Israeli occupation targeting the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, calling for international action to prevent a catastrophe that would further escalate the situation in the region and ignite it at the regional level.
Rafah is the last refuge for the displaced in the stricken sector, and it includes more than 1,400,000 Palestinians, including 1,300,000 displaced people from other governorates.
Since the beginning of the ground operation launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip on October 27, it has been asking residents to go from the north and center of the Strip to the south, claiming that they are “safe areas,” but it was not spared from bombing that targeted homes, cars, and hospitals.
As a result of the atrocities committed in the Gaza Strip, Israel faces accusations of committing “genocide” before the International Court of Justice, for the first time in its history, which was met with regional and global welcome.
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