The executive mayor of Ramallah City, Mousa Hadid, is hoping that the presence of former president Nelson Mandela's statue in his municipality will help his people realise the dream of an independent and free Palestine. This afternoon Mandela's 6m image will tower over al-Titherah in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank - the first time a statue of the South African statesman has been unveiled in the Middle East.A partnership between Ramallah and Johannesburg was behind Hadid's monumental dream.Yesterday he described Mandela as a "true friend of the people of Palestine"."The presence of Nelson Mandela in Palestine is of great significance to the people of Palestine. Mandela led the call for tolerance among all nations. He is an inspiration who will inspire the people of Palestine in their pursuit of freedom and independence," said Hadid.The statue, created by South African artists Lungisa Khala, Christina Salvodi and Tanya Lee, was funded by the City of Johannesburg.It took the artists seven months to complete and will stand in the centre of the new Mandela Square in Ramallah.Tensions between the Palestinian territories and Israel almost brought the initiative to a halt.During shipment from South Africa, the sculpture was held by Israeli customs officials for 38 days, delaying its mounting.Israeli officials demanded $6-million (about R86-million) in excise for the release of the statue.It took intervention at a high diplomatic level to get the work released in time for its unveiling.Hadid described the actions of the Israeli authorities as political."It was a political decision. It was not a customs issue. It was just a message from Israel as they wanted to keep the statue for more than a month without any justification," Hadid said.The mayor also used the opportunity to warn the Israeli government that Palestinian freedom and independence would arrive sooner than it might think."We are closer to our freedom than you think. Our people, who are prisoners in Israel, will be free. They will be inspired by Mandela. No matter how long this struggle takes," Hadid said.Johannesburg executive mayor Parks Tau said the city understood the struggles of the Palestinians."We want to use this opportunity to create awareness about the challenges that confront the people of Palestine," Tau said...