South Africa calls on Israel to free Gaza flotilla activists including Mandela grandson

Johannesburg: South Africa on Thursday called on Israel to release activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla including Nelson Mandela's grandson, saying Israel's interception of the Gaza-bound aid boats was a grave offence and violation of international law.

South Africa has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide over its devastating war in Gaza, an allegation Israel vehemently denies.

"The interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla is another grave offence by Israel (against) global solidarity and sentiment that is aimed at relieving suffering in Gaza and advancing peace in the region," President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.

Ramaphosa said Israeli forces' interception of the flotilla in international waters violated an ICJ injunction that humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow unimpeded.

Before leaving South Africa to join the flotilla, Mandela's grandson Nkosi Zwelivelile "Mandla" Mandela told Reuters that Palestinians' lives under Israeli occupation were worse than anything Black South Africans experienced under apartheid.

Israel rejects comparisons between the lives of Palestinians who have lived under Israeli occupation or economic blockade for over half a century and the apartheid era in South Africa, when the Black majority was ruled by a repressive white minority government.