The Nakba is not a memory but the lived, daily reality of the Palestinian people. What began in 1948 with the ethnic cleansing of over 750,000 Palestinians continues today in the bulldozing of homes in the West Bank, the starvation and bombing of Gaza, the torture of political prisoners, and the criminalization of legitimate resistance, including international activists like those of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Today, Palestinians are forced to endure an ongoing genocide while neighbours Lebanon and Iran suffer the devastation of an illegal war, all orchestrated by a rampantly racist Israeli regime. We, as South Africans, recognize this struggle of the oppressed, wherever they may be, because we have lived it.
World Keffiyeh day is celebrated annually on 11 May as a visual way to raise awareness about the Palestinian cause by simply wearing the Keffiyeh – one of the most iconic symbols for Palestinians.
How to join the movement: 1. Wear your Keffiyeh on may 11th in solidarity with Palestine to visually raise awareness. 2. Share on socials and use the official hashtag #KEFFIYEHDAY so we can get it trending on all social media platforms!
This morning, 10 May 2026, Adalah, FIDH member organisation, received formal confirmation that Global Sumud Flotilla leaders Thiago Ávila and Saif Abukeshek have been released and deported, and are no longer in Israeli custody.
While they are now free, Adalah and FIDH condemn the entire process as a flagrant violation of international law. From their abduction in international waters to their unlawful detention in total isolation and the ill-treatment they were subjected to, the Israeli authorities’ actions were a punitive attack on a purely civilian mission.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (SA) chapter, the SA Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Coalition and numerous other supporting organisations invite you and your organisation to participate in the protest action scheduled to take place in Richards Bay, Kwazulu-Natal, the site where ships load South African coal to deliver to apartheid Israel.
On the night of April 29 to 30, Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud flotilla in international waters west of Crete, seizing a civilian aid convoy hundreds of miles from Gaza and funnelling 176 activists into a tightly managed transfer operation on Greek soil, where 31 wounded required first aid.
But the episode did not end in Crete. While most passengers were offloaded into Greek custody and dispersal, two organizers, Saif Abukeshek, a Spanish-Swedish activist of Palestinian origin and Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian activist, were abducted and forcibly transferred to Israel against their will, brought before the Ashkelon Magistrates’ Court, and held in Shikma Prison in Ashkelon, where lawyers say their detention was extended and abuse allegations emerged.
The Palestine Solidarity Alliance condemns in the strongest possible terms the unlawful abduction, detention and reported torture of Global Sumud Flotilla activists Thiago Ávila and Saif Abukeshek by Israeli forces. The two activists were seized in international waters near Crete, Greece, on 30 April while participating in a humanitarian mission aimed at challenging the siege of Gaza and affirming the right of Palestinians to life, dignity and freedom.
GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2026, Mediterranean Sea – Israel’s actions tonight (Wednesday, April 29, 2026) mark a dangerous and unprecedented escalation: the abduction of civilians in the middle of the Mediterranean, over 600 miles from Gaza, in full view of the world.
