Israeli genocide in Palestine ongoing for 76 years, says Mandela's grandson

Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, the grandson of South African anti-apartheid politician and statesman Nelson Mandela, said Israeli “genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Palestine have been ongoing for 76 years, Anadolu news agency reported.

“The war hasn’t been since the seventh of October, we must be clear on what the facts are. The genocide, ethnic cleansing war crimes, and crimes against humanity have been going on for the past 76 years since 1948,” said the South African National Assembly member in an interview with Anadolu in Geneva.

Mandela added that over 531 villages have been disseminated by the “Zionist zapping entity.”

“So we will never, at any point want to reduce this conflict to be from the seventh of October. Those that continue to perpetuate that propaganda and lie will be met with the facts that we have,” he added.

Underlining that there have been over 20 different massacres between 2006 to 2023 in Gaza alone, he said many more have been carried out in occupied territories in the West Bank.

“We strongly condemn the fact that people always wanted to speak about this conflict as if it started on the seventh of October,” he said.

Criticizing the governments that are not “the voices of the masses”, he said people are rising in every major city across the globe in support of the Palestinian cause.

“The Electronic Intifada has been able to utilize social media and ensure that we can reach far and wide across the global community and mobilize support for the Palestinian people,” he added.

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Praising the efforts of his government and the president, he said it has been a “historical achievement” on the part of South Africa.

Mandela made a “global call” to all countries in Europe, the West, as well as Latin America, Africa, and Asia, urging them to follow and support the South African case.

“We are very happy to hear that Spain and other countries have now recognized Palestine as a state, and we will continue to call on more countries to follow likewise,” he added.

South Africa was the first country to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to try Israel for genocide following the Oct. 7 attacks.

The coordinated recognition of the state of Palestine by Spain, Ireland, and Norway is seen as a significant step towards reviving efforts for a peaceful resolution in the Middle East.

Israel has been waging a brutal offensive against Gaza since October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire. The offensive has killed at least 36,000 Palestinians, mainly children and women, and wounded almost 80,000 others.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of “genocide” at the ICJ, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. According to South Africa, which took the occupation state to the ICJ, Israel is ignoring the court’s orders.

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