ISTANBUL, (PIC)
Ismail Haneyya, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, met with Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
During the meeting, Haneyya praised South Africa’s historic step to file a legal case against the Israeli occupation regime with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
He thanked the people and government of South Africa for their unbridled support of the Palestinian cause.
Haneyya also strongly condemned the heinous crimes committed by the Israeli regime in its genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip.
He highlighted the international community’s responsibility with regard to the ongoing developments in Gaza, stressing that if justice is to be dispensed, “Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his terrorist ministers must be arrested for their criminal acts.”
On the other hand, he said the position taken by South Africa’s late leader, Nelson Mandela, on the Palestinian cause had genuine humanitarian and moral dimensions, and stood in stark contrast with the blind and biased support provided to Israel by the United States and some other Western countries.
Mandela, for his part, expressed his condolences for the martyrdom of Haneyya’s sons and grandchildren and for all the victims in Gaza Strip.
He reaffirmed his country’s continued support for the Palestinian cause until the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Occupied Jerusalem as its capital.
