The Palestine Convoy, bringing together civil society representatives and volunteers from different countries to draw attention to human rights violations in Palestine and the ongoing humanitarian crisis, entered Türkiye through the Ipsala Border Gate in Edirne after setting off from Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The convoy, which has brought together civil society representatives from more than 20 European countries in solidarity with Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, crossed into Türkiye on Thursday through the Ipsala Border Gate on the Greek border after departing from Srebrenica. The 85 participants, who traveled through Albania and Greece, will cross Iraq and Jordan before reaching the border of the occupied Palestinian territories on Aug. 21, 2026. They were welcomed at the border crossing by civil society organizations from Istanbul carrying Turkish and Palestinian flags.
Speaking at the border crossing, Palestine Convoy spokesperson and Turkish activist Hüseyin Durmaz said the journey began in Srebrenica, where they commemorated the genocide that took place there 31 years ago.
"There, we commemorated the genocide that took place 31 years ago, prayed for those killed and reflected on the fact that evil is a shared responsibility. We believe our silence contributed to the suffering because we could not intervene or reach those in need at the time. That is why we have taken action so as not to remain silent about what is happening today in Gaza, the West Bank and Palestine. It is our duty to stop a genocide taking place in our own lifetime," he said.
"Our convoy continues its journey with the participation of activists from many countries around the world. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and Greece, it has received tremendous public interest and support across the Balkans," he said.
Durmaz said the convoy has three main objectives.
"First, we do not want the West Bank to become another Gaza. As you know, Israel is currently pursuing a very serious policy of forced displacement in the West Bank and openly says it intends to turn it into another Gaza. It is our duty to prevent that.
"At a time when Israel should be withdrawing from Gaza following the cease-fire and humanitarian aid should be entering the territory, we see that it is instead expanding its occupation every day and making plans to annex all of Gaza. Humanitarian aid is still not reaching Gaza. Because of the cease-fire, Gaza has also begun to fade from the global agenda, and we want to bring it back into international focus and increase pressure on Israel."
Durmaz said the convoy has been expanding "like a snowball" by meeting with people and raising awareness of the Palestinian cause.
Durmaz said the convoy's mission is to help stop what he described as genocide.
"The issue is ending this genocide in our own era. We will continue this journey until it ends. As you know, we have taken part in many global initiatives before, but each time we were only able to go so far. This time we are following a route that has already been tested. We believe the countries along the route will not obstruct our march or our convoy because we are not targeting those countries or their domestic politics. Our only target is Zionism and what we see as its genocidal policies. Our aim is to increase its international isolation and help bring an end to these actions," he said.
