Israel prepares to seize Gaza Freedom Flotilla, arrest activists including Greta Thunberg

• Israel is preparing to intercept the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, a humanitarian aid ship carrying activists like Greta Thunberg, Liam Cunningham, and Susan Sarandon.
• Despite posing no security threat, Israel will seize the vessel to avoid setting a precedent that challenges its blockade of Gaza.
• Israel has a violent history of attacking aid ships, including the deadly 2010 Mavi Marmara raid and a recent drone strike on another vessel.
• Activists aboard remain defiant, calling the mission part of a “global uprising” against Israel’s oppression, while legal experts warn interception would be a war crime.
• Allowing this interception reinforces Israel’s impunity in enforcing its illegal blockade, silencing dissent, and perpetuating genocide in Gaza.

In yet another brazen violation of international law, Israel is preparing to intercept and seize the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, a humanitarian aid vessel carrying 12 pro-Palestinian activists, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, actor Liam Cunningham, and actress Susan Sarandon. The ship, named Madleen, departed from Sicily and is expected to reach Gaza by June 8, where it aims to break Israel’s illegal blockade of the besieged enclave.

According to Israeli media reports, Tel Aviv initially considered allowing the ship to dock since it poses no security threat. However, Israeli officials ultimately decided against it, fearing that permitting even symbolic aid deliveries would set a dangerous precedent that challenges their brutal siege on Gaza. Instead, Israeli naval forces are preparing to seize the vessel and arrest its passengers, continuing a long-standing pattern of suppressing dissent and humanitarian efforts.

Israel’s history of violent interceptions

This is not the first time Israel has attacked humanitarian ships attempting to reach Gaza. In 2010, Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara, part of a previous Freedom Flotilla, killing nine Turkish civilians and injuring dozens more in international waters. Just last month, an Israeli drone bombed another aid vessel, blowing a hole through its hull and nearly sinking it.

Now, history appears poised to repeat itself. Military sources confirm that Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 naval commando unit is preparing for a potential interception, with missile boats deployed to enforce the blockade. Activists aboard the Madleen have already reported an Israeli drone hovering above them in an ominous sign of what may come.

Silencing dissent, enforcing apartheid

Israel’s crackdown on humanitarian missions is part of a broader strategy to silence critics of its apartheid regime. Despite this, Western governments continue to enable Israel’s crimes. The European Union remains Israel’s largest trading partner, even as its military entrenches occupation and genocide in Gaza.

Activists aboard the Madleen remain undeterred. In a video statement, Thiago Avila declared, “It’s important that we understand that Netanyahu and any other repressive regime throughout history, they actually fear the people, we do not fear them.” He emphasized that the mission is part of a “global uprising” against Israel’s oppression. “It will not be through force that they will make a way to defeat us,” he added.

More than 650,000 people have signed a letter warning Israel that any attack on the flotilla would constitute a war crime under international law. Former International Court of Justice judge John Dugard dismissed Israel’s self-defense claims as “absolute nonsense,” stating that to “justify action in self-defence, Israel has to satisfy the international community that it has been subjected to an attack. One can hardly describe the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza as an attack.”

Israel’s planned interception of the Madleen is not just about stopping a single ship; it’s about maintaining an illegal blockade that has starved and traumatized Palestinians for nearly two decades. If the world allows this to happen, it sends a message that Israel can do whatever it wants, silencing activists, violating maritime law, and perpetuating genocide without consequences.

Sources for this article include:

TheCradle.co

AlJazeera.com

FoxNews.com