Afrasianet - Nazareth, Tunisia - Capitals and agencies: In an operation described by governments, international organizations and forces as piracy that violates international law, the Israeli occupying forces intercepted 40 boats carrying aid and carrying hundreds of foreign activists, including European parliamentarians. Footage from live cameras from the boats showed Israeli soldiers in helmets and night vision goggles boarding the boats, as passengers huddled side by side wearing life jackets with their hands raised.
Thunberg, 22, who is known for her pro-environmental protests, recorded a video earlier and posted on her behalf after Israeli forces boarded the boats. Our humanitarian mission has not been violent and committed to international law." The Israeli Foreign Ministry said on the X platform, "All passengers are fine and healthy, and are on their way safely to Israel where they will be deported to Europe."
The International Committee to Break the Siege on the Gaza Strip said in a previous statement that the Israeli occupation navy illegally intercepted the ships of the Global "Steadfastness Flotilla", which carries food, baby formula and medicines, and has volunteers from 47 countries on board. According to the statement, "hundreds of participants were abducted, after they were attacked with water cannons, sprayed with foul sewage, and their communications were systematically jammed, in additional acts of hostility against unarmed civilians."
The Adalah Center in the 48 Territories, which monitors the conditions of the flotilla's activists, said that the Israeli authorities began hearings with activists they arrested during their attack on the "Steadfastness Flotilla" in preparation for their deportation, and without enabling them to meet with their lawyers or obtain legal advice.
Dr. Suhad Bishara, a lawyer from the Adalah Center, told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the Israeli objections are illegal because of the measures they included in international waters against a humanitarian flotilla, stressing that Israel is required under the rules of international law and the laws of the sea to allow the passage of humanitarian aid convoys in such circumstances. "The interception is undoubtedly illegal according to international law, and the naval blockade on Gaza in this case constitutes a form of collective punishment that is prohibited according to the foundations of humanitarian law Thameen Al-Khaitan, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the Israeli occupation state's objection to the Global Steadfastness Flotilla is expanding its illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip.
"Israel must ensure the provision of food and medical supplies to the population to the maximum extent possible, or approve neutral humanitarian relief plans and facilitate their implementation quickly and without hindrance, in accordance with the orders of the International Court of Justice issued in January 2024," he added.
The flotilla's objection has been widely condemned internationally, and demonstrations have taken place in more than one European city, including Italy, which is witnessing a full-scale union strike tomorrow.Colombia expelled the Israeli delegation, while the Foreign Ministry summoned the chargé d'affaires of the Israeli embassy in Madrid.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a press statement published on its website that this "constitutes a flagrant violation of international laws and a threat to freedom of navigation and maritime security."
Wadih Awawdeh and Hassan Salman