African National Congress (ANC) president Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa's actions in support of the Palestinians were not about taking credit but a duty to help those whose rights were violated.
He spoke at the ruling party's headquarters in Johannesburg after receiving words of gratitude from sections of the international Muslim community.
Leaders of some Muslim communities in the United States, Europe and East Africa met with top ANC leaders and expressed gratitude for South Africa's decision to take the Israel/Hamas conflict to the International Court of Justice.
But Ramaphosa says fighting for the Palestinian cause is something he learned from Nelson Mandela, the founding father of South African democracy.
“The actions we have taken to support the Palestinian people are not actually taken to earn us any accolades, but to support those who have experienced and suffered actual violations of their fundamental human rights. This was the duty of our first democratic president, Nelson Mandela, to make it very clear to everyone that our freedom as South Africans is not complete until the freedom of the Palestinian people is achieved. This is consistent with the teachings we have received from.”
