Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday unveiled a statue of Nelson Mandela at a square named the South African anti-apartheid iconin the West Bank city of Ramallah.

“We see the statue as a symbol of friendship, as a symbol of demonstrating our solidarity but also hopefully as an inspiration to the people of Palestine that you indeed would be able to achieve your freedom,” said Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau.

“We are here as the people of South Africa to say we stand in solidarity with you, we stand in solidarity with your struggles and we understand the difficulties that you go through.”

The six-meter bronze statue, which was made with the consent of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and funded by the municipality of Johannesburg, was given as a gift from South Africa to the people of Palestine.

Ramallah Mayor Musa Hadeed said that “Nelson Mandela is now a symbol of dignity, a symbol of forgiveness, a symbol of peace and the symbol of freedom that we Palestinians are struggling to achieve.” “Nelson Mandela is now in Ramallah and his spirit is around us”. 

"This statue holds special importance for the Palestinian people who have continued Mandela's struggle against racism," he added