Key points
- The ship was close to 160km from Gaza when it was stopped
- The ship was carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians
- Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among the 12 activists now being detained by Israel: Al Jazeera
ISLAMABAD: The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the Madleen’s crew is being taken to Israel after Israeli forces seized the vessel in international waters, Al Jazeera reported.
The Madleen ship, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was close to 100 miles [160km] from Gaza when it was stopped. The ship was carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians starving because of Israel’s siege, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel’s most recent total blockade began on March 2, and has only partially lifted under mounting international pressure.
Israel has killed more than 54,000 people in Gaza during this war after maintaining a land, sea and air blockade since 2007.
The Madleen departed Sicily on June 1, one month after Israeli drones bombed another aid ship headed for Gaza.
Greta Thunberg
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among the 12 activists now being detained by Israel, according to Al-Jazeera.
AFP reported that among those on board the boat are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament. The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula.
The organisers of the Madleen’s voyage said on Saturday that they had reached Egyptian waters and were nearing Gaza.
The Madleen, a sailing boat operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left Italy on June 1 with the stated aim of delivering humanitarian aid and breaking the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, activists aboard the vessel have said they will continue their journey “until the last minute”.
Humanitarian aid
“We’ll stay mobilised until the last minute — until Israel cuts the internet and networks,” AFP cited European parliament member Rima Hassan as saying. “There are twelve of us civilians on board. We are not armed. There is only humanitarian aid.”
Hassan voiced concern over the lack of official response from countries whose citizens are part of the crew.
“No state has responded. The message being sent is that Israel is being allowed to act with impunity, without any guarantee of protection for us,” she added.
In a statement Hassan said that the activists have “less than 24 hours” before they are detained by Israeli authorities.
“When we are no longer able to communicate with you, I’m counting on you to continue the mobilisation that has been so valuable to us throughout this journey,” she wrote.
Nationals of Germany, France, Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands are on the boat.
“We’re not scared of them,” said German human rights activist Yasemin Acar, also on board. “The message they have been sending us, that we cannot come closer, is not making us step back.”
On Sunday, French Minister for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin said that France was obliged to ensure “consular protection” for its nationals aboard the Madleen, AFP reported.
“The six French citizens on this boat are entitled to consular protection,” AFP reported.
On Sunday, the health ministry in Gaza said that the overall toll for the Gaza war had reached 54,880, the majority being civilians. The UN considers these figures reliable.
