South Africans protest Israeli attacks on Gaza
Mandla Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, urges South African government to cut ties with Israel
Hundreds of South Africans marched on the streets of Cape Town on Friday, protesting against the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Holding Palestinian flags and banners with messages of solidarity with Palestinians, protesters marched to parliament.
“I call on the President, Cyril Ramaphosa not to only stand at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and speak on Palestine, but act upon it,” Mandla Mandela, a grandson of Nelson Mandela, a global icon and South Africa’s first black president, said in his address to the large crowd outside parliament.
Mandela also called on South Africa’s Minister of Transport to cancel the air traffic license of Israeli airline El Al.
“We call on the Department on International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Naledi Pandor, to tell the president that the ‘apartheid’ state of Israel’s Embassy is no longer welcome in South Africa,” he said to cheers from the crowd.
The protest organized by the Al-Quds Foundation drew people from various religious denominations, including Muslims, Christians and Jews.
This is the second such protest to take place in Cape Town this week. On Wednesday, South Africans in Johannesburg picketed outside the US Consulate and residents of Cape Town marched to the offices of the South African Zionist Federation.
Many protesters called for boycotting Israeli goods and urged their government to end diplomatic ties.
