The Global Sumud Flotilla has held a press conference in Türkiye following the release and deportation of international activists kidnapped by Israeli occupation forces on the high seas while attempting to sail humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Activists from Australia, Brazil, Türkiye and other countries described how Israeli occupation forces boarded the vessels in international waters, seized the boats and forcibly detained passengers before transferring them into Israeli custody.
Speakers at the press conference stated that occupation forces zip-tied detainees, forced some to kneel for extended periods, subjected them to verbal abuse and intimidation, deprived them of sleep and transported them under armed guard.
Activists said Israeli authorities attempted to humiliate prisoners and break morale during the detention process. Participants insisted the flotilla was a non-violent civilian mission aimed at challenging the blockade of Gaza and drawing international attention to the destruction and starvation imposed on the Palestinian population. One speaker declared: “This story will not end here.”
Among those reported as detained by Israeli authorities was Brisbane activist Sam Woripa Watson, who has appeared in post-release footage circulating through Global Sumud Flotilla social media networks after deportation to Türkiye.
Speakers also criticised Western governments, including Australia, for failing to defend their citizens after the seizure of the flotilla and the abuse of detainees in Israeli custody. The Global Sumud Flotilla is part of a growing international movement against the blockade and destruction of Gaza by Israel, with organisers pledging that further missions will continue despite Israeli military interceptions and arrests.
Video of the press conference: https://youtu.be/hExe25r81RQ?si=t11yf8kXXXFqu0JA
– 6th of June 10am Reddacliffe place – fun run
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY1qV-Wv6d4/?igsh=MTFybno4Zjl4NTVzdQ==
– 7th of June 10am-4pm upksill day (details to come)
– 13th June 9.30am Gair Park, Dutton Park Caltex Protest on Sat 13th June.
– 14th of June 1pm king George square – rally (details to come)
– 26th of June 7pm at Elements collective fundraiser concert Gaza emergency appeal
the kidnapping of the flotilla gave a kick in the guts to the Zealots.
in case you missed Frantic Kelly last night chase up interviews with the mother of one of the heroes.
why isn’t she Foreign Minister?
don’t have to ask.
followed by a journalist from the Entity stressing that the Minister for Police is a convicted terrorist
who is in the ministry to keep the Yahoo out of the clink
so much the Herrronvolk Democracy
more typical of the AAABBBCCC has been its reportage of the closure of the Colbert Show
making no mention of how the Ellison family is at the top of the Zionist Lobby to which their deals have added more media outlets
dad is the founder of Oracle and the biggest donor to the IDF
Peter and h
Helen O’Sullivan, social worker and deportee from Israel, is expected to arrive in Brisbane early tomorrow. Her arrival is likely to be met by supporters of the Global Sumud flotilla.
It is difficult for anyone to endure an ordeal such as witnessing a person being shot while standing beside them, and then 12 month later to be kidnapped on the high seas and subjected to brutal treatment by Israeli commandos.
Such experiences leave deep scars.
No heroes here
Yet despite that, it remains necessary to continue showing support for the Palestinian people, who have seen, heard and lived through so much more.
Who knows how the authorities and legacy media here will treat such a person?
We need to treat the activists homecoming and be aware of false narratives being spun against the Palestinians.
🇵🇸 Bring your flags, your kufeyyeh, and your enthusiasm.
📍 Brisbane International Airport Arrivals
🗓 Monday, 25 May
⏰ 6:25 AM
From info supplied Helen will arrive at Brisbane International Airport on Emirates flight EK434 at 6.25 a.m. Monday 25 May.
This time is provisional as international flight arrival times can vary.
Please note that, other things being equal, it will take between 20 minutes to an hour for our friend to get through customs.
If anyone knows lawyers that may sign onto and distribute this statement, pls do forward on. Thank you:
Delivering food and medicine to civilians in need is not only legal under international law — it is a legal and moral obligation under the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.
Blocking humanitarian aid from reaching a civilian population in a war zone is a war crime. This is not opinion. It is settled international law.
The Global Sumud Flotilla was engaged in a wholly lawful humanitarian mission in international waters when Israeli naval forces intercepted it, seized participants at gunpoint, and subjected them to serious abuse documented by Adalah lawyers on the ground.
Blaming humanitarian volunteers for the abuse they suffered is victim blaming. It is abhorrent and it must stop.
Our people were delivering food and medicine to starving civilians. That is legal. That is human. That is what decent people do. Suggesting they brought this on themselves is not only factually wrong — it is morally disgraceful.
There is no legal justification for what occurred. The question being asked of our participants — why did they put themselves in that situation — is the wrong question. The right question is why Israel is committing war crimes against unarmed civilians delivering food, and why the Australian Government has not condemned it in the strongest possible terms.
We stand with our people. We stand with every survivor. And we demand the Australian Government act.
We call on the Australian Government to:
* Condemn Israel for preventing life-saving aid from reaching Gaza
* Immediately impose economic and political sanctions on Israel
*Stop sending weapons to Israel including all parts, components and dual-use items
Statement by David Heilpern.
Form curated and managed by the Australian delegation of Global Sumud Flotilla. The form for signatures is here.
https://tally.so/r/Y5xGxd
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYm9156ukza/?igsh=eWQ3MGtqOW9tbHRv
Thank you Stephen for your comments on WBT and for all the work that you have been doing in New York in support of the Palestinians.
As you may be aware this is not the first time Israel has committed acts of piracy on the high seas. You may recall that Israel sank the USS Liberty in international waters of the Sinai peninsula on the 8th of June 1967 killing 34 American crew members and wounding 171 others.
A more recent instance of international piracy by Israel occurred when its commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara in 2010 and murdered 10 people bringing aid to Gaza.
The International Criminal Court prosecutor accepted that there was a reasonable basis to believe war crime may have been committed, but refused to take the case to court and was backed up by the judges of the International Criminal Court.
There were also UN inquiries, Turkish criminal investigations, civil lawsuits, and an international legal debate about the murders.
For more than twenty years, Israel has intercepted and seized civilian vessels attempting to break the naval blockade of Gaza. Critics, maritime lawyers and flotilla activists have described these repeated attacks on ships in international waters as acts of piracy.
In 2018, I interviewed Chris Graham, the editor of New Matilda, who sailed aboard the Al Awda, one of the lead ships attempting to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
Chris Graham described how Israeli commandos violently abducted mariners aboard the ship after intercepting it in international waters. He reported that Israeli forces beat and shot at some of the activists during the seizure of the vessel. Graham was the only journalist aboard the Al Awda and provided firsthand eyewitness account of the abduction and detention of flotilla participants.
Whilst it is clearly established by recent facts on the water, Israel has remained immune till this day.
Western governments including Turkey refuse to act against the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. The government of Turkey has close trade ties with Israel and has opposed sanctions on Israel to this day. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has condemned Israeli military actions in Gaza and Lebanon but continued to provide it with the wherewithal to continue the genocide.
Ian Curr
Editor WBT
22 May 2026
Nada Ibrahim speaks the truth at al Nakba in Magan-djin
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1D8kzzThF3/
Thank Bruce almighty that nobody got killed, although through the zionists actions it could have been. Now, I know everyone agrees that what transpired was an act of Piracy, so shouldn’t they/we be able to go to an international tribunal and charge the zionist with Piracy????