Six South African activists return home after detention by Israel

Transcript

00:00At OR Tambo International Airport, a crowd of supporters has gathered in anticipation

00:13of the arrival of six South African activists recently detained by Israel.

00:18The moment carries strong symbolic weight for many here who see their return as part

00:24of South Africa's border solidarity with the people of Gaza.

00:28They did the advocacy we need.

00:30We need advocacy to tell the world that Israel is not doing right, it's wrong, it's injustice,

00:36injustice, they're oppressing the people.

00:38The group joined the largest ever aid flotilla made up of activists from 40 countries determined

00:44to break Israel's blockade on the Palestinian enclave and deliver relief to people in Gaza.

00:50Aid agencies say many people in Gaza are in desperate need of such humanitarian aid.

00:56But before the activists reached their destination, their ships were seized by Israeli forces in

01:01international waters.

01:02For me, as a wife, it was heartbreaking. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I was just waiting

01:09for some kind of wording just to know that it was okay.

01:13Nearly 500 activists were arrested and jailed, with many later narrating how they were humiliated

01:19by Israeli authorities before being deported. But they say their ordeal is nothing compared

01:25to what Palestinians face daily.

01:27On the blood-spattered walls of this prison, we knew we were going to get out. We knew

01:32that there was a finite time. Yet the Palestinians, the over 10,000, 12,000 and the child detainees

01:44that are in prison have no end date. And that is the call to mobilization. That is the call

01:50to action.

01:51Despite the harassment, their message is one of defiance, resilience and hope for the

01:56Palestinian people.

01:57We want to say to them, never lose hope, because the entire world stands with you. We

02:05will continue exacting pressure until this blockade and the illegal siege has been brought

02:12to an end.

02:13The mission may have further strained South Africa's already tense ties with Israel, but

02:19Pretoria, which has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice on genocide charges, says it

02:25won't back down, seeking justice for Palestinians.

02:28Standing up for international law is ultimately the most important thing we have to do for the

02:35international community and to ensure that we lived in a rules-based society with clear rules, which

02:42is international law itself and international humanitarian law.

02:45Global pressure seeking an end to Israel's offense in Gaza is growing at a time when the

02:50humanitarian crisis in the Inclave is getting worse.

02:53For Palestinians, the nightmare under Israeli control continues, but activists hope missions

02:58like this will build pressure and spark a new dawn for Gaza.

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