Gaza Flotilla Attacked in International Waters
Escalation Signals Expansion of Israel’s Blockade Beyond Palestine
Vessels from the civilian flotilla to Gaza have again been attacked in international waters and their crews abducted by Israeli occupation forces on 18 May. The Global Sumud Flotilla stated the assault took place in Cyprus' search and rescue zone, 250 miles from Gaza, and overlapped with obstructions faced by a global land convoy attempting to break the blockade of Gaza through a route in North Africa.
“This military encirclement marks the commencement of another illegal, high-seas aggression four days after 54 civilian vessels lifted anchor from Marmaris to establish a humanitarian corridor and break israel’s illegal siege of Gaza,” the Global Sumud Flotilla wrote. “The consecutive targeting of both the sea and land components of the mission makes clear that the illegal siege on Gaza has expanded into a global architecture of violence, occupation and expanded impunity.”
Israel’s newest round of attacks against the civilian flotilla comes only weeks after it assaulted over 20 ships near Greek territorial waters at the end of April, and abducted 181 crew members. The event was followed by the prolonged imprisonment of two Global Sumud Flotilla activists, Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila, who were finally released—without charge—on 10 May. The abducted crew members reaffirmed reports of violence committed by Israeli soldiers shared by participants of previous flotilla efforts, while Abukeshek’s and Ávila’s legal representatives echoed reports of torture.
Despite the likelihood of Israel attacking the flotilla again, many ships decided to continue their journey to Gaza, emphasizing that their efforts are in line with international law, unlike the occupation power’s continued acts of piracy in proximity to European waters. Additionally, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition stated ahead of departure on 13 May that the civilian flotilla’s role is not simply that of an aid delivery attempt. “We sail in defiance of a brutal and unlawful blockade to isolate, imprison, and persecute Palestinians, and in rejection of the international community’s failure to stop Israel’s ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people,” the organization wrote.
The attacks have already triggered new protest announcements across Europe, following a weekend of actions organized in support of cultural boycott calls and marking of Nakba Day. Mobilizations took place in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Spain, with many initiatives insisting on understanding the events of 1948 as an ongoing catastrophe for Palestinians—in which most European governments remain complicit.
“Today we commemorate the forced expulsion of more than 750,000 Palestinians in 1948,” general secretary of the Workers' Party of Belgium Peter Mertens stated on 15 May. “This is not a forgotten history, but a permanent reality of occupation, apartheid, and violence that today culminates in a brutal genocide against Palestinians.”
Similarly, the Italian grassroots trade union Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) wrote: “The Nakba continues to this day. It continues through military occupation, the siege of Gaza, the colonization of the West Bank, segregation, deportations, arbitrary detentions, and the systematic denial of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people.”
“Today, it is even more important to remember this so that we do not turn a blind eye to the crimes of genocide and imperialist aggression currently being committed in Palestine and throughout the Middle East by the United States and Israel,” the left party Potere al Popolo added.
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