Nelson Mandela first visited Israel as well as the Palestinian territories in 1999, after he had handed over the presidency of South Africa to Thabo Mbeki. He had not previously received an invitation from Israel. He met with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders, like Ehud Barak and Yassir Arafat. He said: "To the many people who have questioned why I came, I say: Israel worked very closely with the apartheid regime. I say: I've made peace with many men who slaughtered our people like animals. Israel cooperated with the apartheid regime, but it did not participate in any atrocities." Mandela reiterated his unwavering opposition to Israeli control of Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and southern Lebanon. And he noted that, upon his release from prison in 1990, he received invitations to visit "almost every country in the world, except Israel."