Nelson Mandela, speaking in the Palestinian Gaza Strip in 1999, explained: “The lesson of history is that for the masses of the people, the methods of political action which they use are determined by the oppressor himself. If the oppressor uses peaceful means, the oppressed would never resort to violence. It is when the oppressor — in addition to his repressive policies — uses violence, that the oppressed have no alternative but to retaliate by similar forms of action.

“And, therefore, the pains, the blood that was spilled, and the responsibility for that lies squarely on the shoulders of the [oppressive] régime … Our men and women with vision choose peace rather than confrontation, except in cases where we cannot proceed, where we cannot move forward, then, if the only alternative is violence, we will use violence.”

Africans across the continent will be rolling out solidarity actions in support of the Palestinian people and fellow peace-loving peoples are encouraged to join.