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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Palestine Conference in Johannesburg Calls for True, Meaningful Liberation</h1>December 7, 2023</div>
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<img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/South-Africa_Convention_salaam.png" alt="" title="South Africa_Convention_salaam" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="427" height="287" style="margin-right: 25px;">
The Fifth Global Convention of
Solidarity with Palestine was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from
December 3 to 5. (Photo: via Salaamedia TW Page)
<p><strong>By <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/ahmed-jazbhay" title="Display all articles for Ahmed Jazbhay">Ahmed Jazbhay</a></strong></p>
<blockquote>
<h3><span>A</span><span> conference, under the title ‘Nelson Mandela and
Palestine: Confronting Racism till Liberation’, was held in
Johannesburg from December 3-5.</span></h3>
</blockquote>
<p><span>The conference coincided with the 10th anniversary of Madiba’s passing.</span></p>
<p><span>Mandela’s now-famous quote that “We know too well that our
freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians” was
echoed by many speakers during the joint opening session. </span></p>
<p><span>Addressing delegates, Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Chief Mandla
Mandela, said the occasion was entrenched in an unshakable belief that
Palestinians have the absolute right to the land of their forefathers
using all available means, including the armed resistance.</span></p>
<p><span>Delegates discussed everyday mechanisms to challenge the crimes
of the settler colonizers all over Historic Palestine; how to reinforce
international solidarity in the wake of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation;
and the responsibility of international law and human rights bodies and
how to challenge the restrictions of mainstream and social media on
Palestinian content.</span></p>
<p><span>Conference participants were unanimous in their assertion that
Palestine has been suffering under the triple bondage of imperialism,
racism, and Zionist settler colonialism for 75 years and therefore the
armed struggle currently being waged by the Resistance in Gaza is
justified as per international law.</span></p>
<p><span>Of particular importance was the clarion call for true and
meaningful liberation for Palestine from the Jordanian River to the
Mediterranean Sea, a call that embodies the one-state solution called
for by indigenous Palestinians and the inalienable right of return for
over the seven million refugees and their descendants displaced during
the 1948 Nakba.</span></p>
<p><span>Chief Mandela called upon President Cyril Ramaphosa to abandon
the two-state delusion in favor of a single democratic state for all
indigenous peoples of Palestine.</span></p>
<p><span>“We want to call on His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa to
abandon the thoughts of a Bantustan-type solution to Palestine, abandon
separate development, racism and apartheid in occupied Palestine”, he
said.</span></p>
<p><span>He added that they would not rest “until victory falls on the
people of Palestine”. “Palestine shall be free from the river to the
sea”. </span></p>
<p><span>Heart-wrenching testimony was provided by the parents of martyr
Mohammed Abu Khdeir. Khdeir, a 16-year-old Palestinian, was kidnapped
and burnt alive in Jerusalem on the morning of July 2, 2014.</span></p>
<p><span>One of the highlights of the conference was the attendance of
senior members of the Palestinian Resistance Movement, Hamas. The
delegation included politburo member Bassem Naim, Hamas representative
in Iran, Khaled Qaddoumi and Hamas representative in East, Central and
Southern Africa, Emad Saber.</span></p>
<p><span>Media Review Network members had the privilege of holding
fruitful discussions with members of the Resistance on the sidelines of
the conference, especially related to present Zionist genocide on the
besieged Gaza Strip. The exchange confirmed that the Palestinian
Resistance efforts against the Zionist oppressor seem to be in excellent
and capable hands, despite the immense human suffering being endured on
the ground.</span></p>
<p><span>Indeed, Palestinians fully understand the cost of liberation at all levels. </span></p>
<p><span>“I am filled with pride and glory to be a son of the heroic
Gaza City, which has openly declared its willingness to sacrifice and
for martyrdom for our sincere national objectives, and, indeed, for the
salvation of humanity from the brutal Zionist entity,” Dr. Naim said.</span></p>
<p><span>He added that the current situation in Gaza has two faces.
First, there is the face of courage – the legendary resilience of the
Palestinian people, steadfast in their determination to sacrifice and
stick to their land and homeland. </span></p>
<p><span>Palestinian fighters support the people’s strong desire for
justice and liberation, bravely facing the Zionist-American military
machine and inflicting significant losses upon them. </span></p>
<p><span>The other face is the somber humanitarian catastrophe being
sadistically executed on Gaza by the Zionist forces over the past 60
days.</span></p>
<p><span>Dr. Naim also explained that the October 7 operation remains a
critical and distinguishing revolutionary breakthrough in the history of
the Palestinian struggle against the Zionist settler occupation and
carries the potential for its defeat.</span></p>
<p><span>“It is a testament that a besieged people with limited
resources managed to defeat a regional state with a massive army, huge
intelligence-gathering capacity, and some of the most sophisticated
military and surveillance technology in the world,” Dr. Naim said.</span></p>
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<p><span><em>– Ahmed Jazbhay is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science
at the University of South Africa, and also a Researcher at Media Review
Network. He focuses on the decoloniZation of knowledge and decolonial
struggles. Ahmed holds a PhD from the University of Johannesburg”. He
contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.</em></span></p></div>
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