Israel detains Madleen crew: demand the UK government intervene now
Nathan Akehurst in London/Beirut
In the early hours of Monday 9 June, Israeli forces boarded the British-flagged sailboat Madleen in international waters and detained all crew members as they made their way to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid.
The 12-person crew included French MEP, lawyer and Palestinian refugee Rima Hassan and climate campaigner Greta Thunberg. It set sail on 1 June from Sicily to deliver desperately needed aid supplies including baby formula, children’s prosthetics and medical supplies to Gaza. The grassroots international Freedom Flotilla Coalition says it lost all connection with the vessel and all crew members been taken to an Israeli port for questioning.
The international community stood aside while Israel imposed a two-month full-scale aid blockade on Gaza this year, which the UN said put 14,000 babies at risk of imminent death. Israel has ignored the International Court of Justice order to permit the passage of aid, so Freedom Flotilla activists took it upon themselves to deliver lifesaving supplies by ship.
‘This mission should not even exist,’ said Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian crew member in a video posted just 48 hours before his abduction. ‘We know that it should be countries and a global peace force doing [this]. But when governments fail, we sail.’
Last month, Israel unveiled its dystopian new vision for aid distribution in Gaza: mass gathering points equipped with drone surveillance and biometric gates, in which recognized aid agencies are squeezed out and distribution is controlled by Israeli forces and shadowy private US security companies.
No sooner had the scheme launched than people were massacred near distribution points, while many more went hungry as insufficient aid was distributed. Days later, the UN’s humanitarian coordination agency referred to the territory as the ‘hungriest place on Earth.’
Last month, the Conscience, another Freedom Flotilla ship carrying aid for Gaza was bombed just off the Maltese coast, over a thousand miles from Israel.
Israel has no legal jurisdiction over the Gaza seaboard, and multiple international organisations regard the blockade as in breach of the Geneva Conventions, maritime law, and international humanitarian law.
Nor do the internationally accepted restrictions on even legitimate blockades allow for the kidnap of the crews of neutrally-flagged vessels and the seizure of humanitarian aid.
Under international maritime law, the UK has a responsibility to protect civilian ships bearing its flag. The UK government, along with all flag states, must take that responsibility seriously, ensuring that humanitarian work can be carried out free from harassment and attack.
Palestinian suffering has so far failed to make Western states use all of the tools at their disposal to prevent genocide.
The question now is whether flagrant assaults on neutrally-flagged civilian vessels in international waters will cause states to say: enough is enough.
— Nathan Akehurst (@nathanakehurst)
📰 Write to your MP demanding the UK government holds Israel accountable for flagrant violations of international law and humanitarian principles. Use our email copy here.
👉 Follow the Gaza Freedom Flotilla for regular updates
👀 Watch the videos from crew members made in case they were detained or kidnapped by Israeli forces
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