South Africa: Hamas joins Nelson Mandela's family on death anniversary event; grandson Mandla is longtime supporter

On the occasion of tenth death anniversary of Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, terrorists group Hamas’ officials joined members of his family in laying wreaths at his statue in South Africa. As part of a delegation visiting South Africa, former Hamas government minister Basem Naim attended the ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the home of the South African government, alongside Mandla Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, and other guests. For years, South Africa has been outspoken in its support of the Palestinian cause and has sharply criticised Israel for how it handled the Hamas attacks on October 7. South Africa has previously drawn comparisons between its own historical apartheid system of racial oppression and Israel’s actions in Gaza. South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party, which Nelson Mandela once led, voted in favor of a motion in Parliament last month to close the Israeli Embassy in South Africa and cut diplomatic ties because of the war in Gaza. The motion called for ties to be cut until a permanent cease-fire. The motion passed with a large majority but needs to be enacted by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has criticized Israel but also condemned Hamas for its attack on Israeli civilians that sparked the war. Mandla Mandela is an ANC lawmaker and has been hosting Naim and other Hamas officials in South Africa. They joined a pro-Palestinian march in Cape Town last week and attended a conference in Johannesburg organized by Mandla Mandela in support of the Palestinians. Nelson Mandela died on Dec. 5, 2013 at the age of 95. South Africa’s support for the Palestinian cause is one of the former president and anti-apartheid icon’s legacies after he compared the plight of Black South Africans under the apartheid regime to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. But Mandela also visited Israel in 1999 after the end of his term as president and attempted to improve ties. (with inputs from The Associated Press)