Green party leader says specifically outlawing controversial phrase would restrict freedom of speech

Zack Polanski has said he would discourage pro-Palestine protesters from using the chant “globalise the intifada”, but the Green party leader warned against specifically outlawing the phrase or banning a protest planned in London later this month.

Speaking earlier in the weekend, Keir Starmer called for “tougher action” against marchers using the chant after last week’s attack on Jewish people in Golders Green, saying pro-Gaza marches risked having a cumulative effect of being intimidating.

Israeli court extends detention of two men who were among 175 people intercepted near Crete on Thursday

Spain’s foreign ministry has demanded the immediate release of a Spanish national it said was being “held illegally” by Israel after the interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla, hours after an Israeli court moved to extend his detention by two days.

Saif Abu Keshek, who lives in Barcelona, and Thiago Ávila, from Brazil, appeared in court in Ashkelon on Sunday, days after Israeli forces intercepted at least 22 boats from a flotilla that was attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the devastated Palestinian territory to deliver aid.

BANGI, May 1 — All mosques and surau nationwide have been urged to perform solat hajat and recite Qunut Nazilah for the safety of 175 Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2.0 activists, including 10 Malaysians, who were abducted by the Zionist regime in international waters.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Dr Zulkifli Hasan, said the government fully supports the GSF 2.0 mission and is closely monitoring developments through the Sumud Nusantara Command Centre (SNCC).

“We have mobilised mosques and surau  to perform special prayers and supplications for the success of the GSF 2.0 mission and the safety of all activists, including the 10 Malaysians whose whereabouts remain unknown,” he told a special press conference on the latest developments of the GSF 2026 mission here today.

Earlier, SNCC director-general Datuk Dr Sani Araby Abdul Alim Araby said there has been no official confirmation on the safety status of the 175 activists, including the 10 Malaysians, after 38 hours since the abduction in international waters.

Zulkifli said the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), together with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, remains consistent in its full support for the GSF 2.0 mission and efforts to liberate Gaza from the Zionist regime.

He added that the department is also reviewing forms of assistance, including moral support, that can be extended to the families of the activists.

“We have several agencies ready, and we are continuing initiatives from previous GSF missions. We will assess the needs from time to time,” he said.

The 10 Malaysians abducted yesterday are Zainal Rashid Ahmad who was on board Arkham III, Osman Zolkifli and Dr Jihan Alya Mohd Nordin (Eros 1), Hazwan Hazim Dermawan, Mohd Hanafi Mohd Salim, Ahmad Musa Al-Nuwayri Kamaruzaman and Norhelmi Ab Ghani (Bianca BCN), as well as Mohd Redzal Amzah and Muhamad Muhsin Zaidi (Freia and Marea), and Mohd Shamsir Mohd Isa (Esplai).

The GSF 2.0 mission is an international maritime coalition and global mobilisation effort aimed at breaking the blockade on Gaza in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the territory. — Bernama

ATHENS, May 1 — Dozens of activists on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Crete disembarked on Friday in the Greek island, an AFP journalist saw.

Escorted by Greek coastguards, around 175 activists, the majority of them nationals of European countries, were taken in four coaches to the port of Atherinolakkos, in the southeast of the island.

As they approached the port, the activists chanted “Free Palestine”, AFP saw.

Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said around 175 activists had been taken off more than 20 boats on Thursday. Flotilla organisers put the number at 211.

The flotilla comprising more than 50 vessels set sail in recent weeks from Marseille in France, Barcelona in Spain and Syracuse in Italy.

Its aim, according to the organisers, was to break the blockade of Gaza and bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.

Israel controls all entry points to Gaza. It has been accused by the United Nations and foreign NGOs of strangling the flow of goods into the territory, causing shortages since the start of Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in October 2023.

The Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas, has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein on Friday said: “All the flotilla activists are now in Greece except Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila.”

In a post on X, the ministry called the flotilla “another provocation designed to divert attention from Hamas’s refusal to disarm”. It also said the flotilla was serving “professional provocateurs”.

It said Keshek was “suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organisation” and that he and Avila, suspected of “illegal activity”, would be brought to Israel for questioning.

Several European governments with nationals among those arrested have called on Israel to free the activists and called its action a flagrant contravention of international law.

But the United States backed Israeli authorities, calling the flotilla a “stunt” and saying it expects allies to deny port access, docking, departure and refuelling to vessels participating in the flotilla.

A State Department spokesman said Washington was exploring imposing “consequences” on those who support the flotilla.

The war in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, has led to severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel.

In the summer and autumn of 2025, a first voyage by the Global Sumud Flotilla across the Mediterranean towards Gaza drew worldwide attention.

The boats in that flotilla were intercepted by Israel off the coasts of Egypt and the Gaza Strip in early October.

Crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested and then expelled by Israel. — AFP

Global Sumud Flotilla describes interception as ‘violent raid’ while Turkey condemns it as ‘act of piracy’

Israeli forces have intercepted and detained the crews of at least 22 boats near the Greek island of Crete from a flotilla that is attempting to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of about 58 vessels carrying people from across 70 countries, departed from Italy on Sunday.

Spokesperson says just two out of 14 Australians remain in communication, after CCTV footage showed Israeli navy boarding vessels in international waters

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The family of a Newcastle man among at least six Australians onboard boats that were intercepted by Israeli navy personnel in international waters has issued a tearful plea for his safety and lashed out at the Australian government for not intervening.

More than 50 boats set sail to Gaza from Italy on Monday as part of the Global Sumud flotilla in the hope of delivering 500 tonnes of aid and volunteers to the Gaza Strip, which remains under naval blockade by Israel.

Engineer and two drivers killed in recent weeks as scarcity of clean water fuels spread of preventable diseases

Israeli forces in Gaza killed a water engineer and two drivers who transported water to displaced families over four days in mid-April, exacerbating severe shortages of clean water that are fuelling the spread of preventable disease.

Israeli limits on the shipment of soap, washing powder and other hygiene products into Gaza have also forced prices up, adding to the challenge of keeping clean and avoiding infection in overcrowded shelters and tent encampments.

Exclusive: Scholars, writers and artists risk arrest with message of support for proscribed group before next week’s appeal hearing

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Sally Rooney, Greta Thunberg and Brian Eno have written to the court of appeal in support of Palestine Action before next week’s hearing to determine the lawfulness of the ban on the direct action protest group.

The letter, composed of only seven words – “We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action” – is signed by more than 130 people and is the first time that prominent scholars, writers and activists have come together to defy the ban.

Exclusive: Officials warn department will also lose access to database of 26,000 verified incidents due to cuts

The Foreign Office unit tracking potential breaches of international law by Israel in Gaza and more recently Lebanon has been closed because of cuts within the department, the Guardian can reveal.

The decision to shut the international humanitarian law cell follows a review by Olly Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office dismissed last week by the prime minister over the Peter Mandelson scandal.

$71.4 billion will be needed over ten years to rebuild Gaza

Residents waking to find line has moved overnight and they are now in free-fire zone as army takes more territory

Israeli forces have been moving an agreed truce line in Gaza westwards over the six months since the ceasefire, expanding their zone of control and making the state of limbo ever more dangerous for Palestinians.

The “yellow line” agreed in the US-brokered ceasefire in October was supposed to be temporary pending further Israeli withdrawals, but the partially observed truce has stalled after its first phase amid disagreements over the disarming of Hamas, and continued Israeli bombardment of Gaza.