Al-Qalam 
By Ismail Suder
As activists worldwide mark three years of Israeli genocide in Gaza from October 7, the South African Palestine Movement (SAPM) has planned a series of events in Durban to protest Zionist terror that killed some 70 000 people, including 20 000 children.
Saydoonisa Sayed, spokesperson for the Durban-based South African Palestine Movement (SAPM) has urged people of conscience to mobilise for a series of protest actions planned for next week.
SAPM describes its work as grassroots activism centred on protest, education, cultural resistance and boycott campaigns. “The struggle for Palestine has brought together people from different religious, cultural and social backgrounds. SAPM’s public actions have included Muslims, Christians, Hindus and others who have joined the call for Palestinian freedom and an end to the destruction of Gaza. This is not only a Palestinian issue. It is a question of humanity, international law, justice and the kind of society we want to build,” she added.
Prominent Palestine activist, Dr Lubna Nadvi said: “It is tragic that a genocide has been allowed to continue for three years and that the people of Palestine still do not have political self-determination after almost 80 years of being occupied and oppressed by the apartheid state of Israel. The world should hang its head in shame at what it has enabled – and could have stopped if there had been the political will to do so.”
On Wednesday October 7, rolling pickets are planned at Holocaust Centres in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.
The October 7 picket outside the Holocaust and Genocide Centre in Durban (located on the property of the Durban Jewish Club near the beachfront) will start at 12am-2pm. The Jewish Voice for Peace will also be represented at the picket.
On Friday October 9, the South African Palestine Movement will again picket outside the Durban Holocaust and Genocide Centre.
On Saturday October 10, hundreds are expected to gather near the Oliver Tambo statue on Durban’s North Beach for the start of the Global Day of Action – a protest action that will be held simultaneously across major cities across the world.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry released updated findings in mid-2026 which found that Israeli authorities have committed crimes against humanity and targeted children in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the Durban leg of the tour by renowned UK Palestine activists George Galloway and Yvonne Ridley, made a huge impact on guests who attended events at various locations.
Shabnum Palesa Mohammed who co-ordinated the events said: “The Durban leg of the Galloway & Ridley People Power Tour, hosted by Wage Peace International and Palestine House SA delivered four events. It opened with a press conference on “The Politics of Division: Fascism, Racism, Zionism and Islamophobia,” launching Ubuntu and Ihsaan, a documentary series on Muslim contributions to South Africa, and Zionism in Africa, a groundbreaking research initiative. A fundraising dinner followed, where Galloway and Ridley received the inaugural People Power Awards, where they urged audiences not to vote for any party supporting Zionism. Galloway and Ridley were deeply moved by a visit to the Nelson Mandela Capture Site and Museum, and the Durban leg closed with a successful media masterclass at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.”
For more information, please contact SAPM: southafricapalestinemovement@gmail.com
You can also call them on 0732413260
