When the time was approaching seven in the morning GMT, the Israeli Navy began the process of intercepting the ships of the Global Resilience Fleet in international waters off the coast of the Greek island of Crete, dozens of nautical miles from the besieged Gaza Strip, at a point considered to be in the heart of European waters, and in waters that those sailing in thought were protected by international law and freedom of navigation.
The interception process began when the skies of the fleet were filled with swarms of Israeli drones, with a general disruption of all means of communication for the fleet, some of whose boats were able to enter Greek territorial waters successively throughout the night. At the same time, the fast Israeli military boats were tightening the noose on the rest, shining laser lights on them and intercepting them with loudspeakers and messages ordering them to retreat.
In exclusive statements to Al Jazeera Net, Irish activist Tara O’Grady narrated the details of what happened last night. She is one of the organizing team for the Al-Samoud Flotilla. She was previously arrested by the Israeli Navy among the activists who were arrested on board the Al-Samoud Flotilla that launched last year before it was able to reach the Gaza Strip. She is also the head of the “No Peace Without Justice” organization, which defends human rights.
Electronic jamming and swarms of marches
O’Grady says that shortly before midnight, those in charge of the fleet issued a distress signal and announced that most of their boats had been exposed to electronic jamming in the open Mediterranean. Minutes later, the sky above the ships turned into a theater of war, as swarms of drones flew in the darkness, with intermittent sounds of gunfire, and fast Israeli military boats tightened the noose on anyone who was unable to enter Greek waters.
The Israeli plan was precise: naval forces moved directly towards the main ship in the fleet, and detained the activists on board, especially the main organizers of the fleet, Saif Abu Kishk and Thiago Avila.
According to what was reported by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (wanted by the International Court of Justice) held an emergency meeting at the Ministry of Defense to discuss the mechanism for dealing with the fleet, which resulted in directives to intercept it early due to its unprecedented size.
Indeed, the Al-Samoud Fleet this time is the largest in terms of the number of ships and the number of activists participating in it, and according to previous statements by Al Jazeera Net, a member of the fleet’s steering committee, Suzan Abdullah, announced that this initiative is the largest civil solidarity cruise to break the siege on Gaza, as it was planned to bring together about 1,000 volunteers, activists, and human rights defenders from more than 44 countries around the world, on board about 100 equipped boats.
The flotilla, which launched its first wave from prominent European ports such as Barcelona in Spain on the 12th of this month, and was joined by several boats in Sicily, Italy, aims to open a permanent sea humanitarian corridor to deliver medicines and food supplies and bring medical teams and reconstruction teams into the stricken Gaza Strip, in a message that confirms that the human conscience will not remain a silent witness, according to what Suzanne Abdullah said.
186 detainees and 22 boats
The Irish activist says in her statements that when the true extent of what happened became clear, the numbers were shocking. The Israeli Navy intercepted 21 ships and arrested 186 activists on board, indicating that the forces may take these ships to the port of Ashdod, as they did in previous times, and confiscate them with what they are on.
Regarding Boat 22, the forces disabled it and left it drifting with the activists on board in the open sea, without paying attention to the forecast of a storm during the next 24 hours, which may expose the lives of those on board to double dangers and without there being any means to reach them at the present time, according to what O’Grady said.
This was not the only thing that worried the head of the “No Peace Without Justice” organization. The real concern is the fate of the activists who were arrested by the Israeli navy, especially those who hold Palestinian citizenship. There is a fear that they will face “very long periods of detention and arrests, and many charges will be brought against them.”
The Polish activist goes even further, saying, “We are very concerned because there is a threat to their lives in one way or another if they are kept in prison and it is decided to execute them because they are Palestinians,” according to the recent law approved by the Israeli Knesset to execute Palestinian prisoners.
32 ships remaining
Despite all this, O’Grady says that “they still have 32 ships remaining from the first launch, in addition to many other ships that will join from Greece and Turkey,” stressing that “after the Israeli objection deep in international waters and in the heart of Europe, momentum began to escalate further.”
She explained that the organizers always make contingency plans to continue the mission, “because there is no other alternative and we must continue trying. People around the world are very frustrated and horrified by the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and we will not submit to intimidation, as we are not sheep,” as she described it.
The participant in organizing the fleet believes that by implementing the interception within Europe, Israel has “raised a perfect storm against it. People feel great disgust at what happened,” adding that “the Israelis do not own the Mediterranean, and they certainly do not own us civilians,” and we will not allow them to continue unopposed, and they cannot be allowed to continue with impunity.”
Perhaps this storm of discontent was evident in the widespread international reactions, as Colombia announced the expulsion of Israeli diplomats, and Turkey described the objection as a “terrorist act,” while European countries summoned several Israeli ambassadors to protest against this.
Extensive Israeli crimes
On the legal level, international law professor Luigi Daniele confirmed – in statements to Al Jazeera – that intercepting civilian ships in international waters amounts to an international crime, noting that the International Court of Justice has classified the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip as illegal, and that obstructing humanitarian aid constitutes a violation of the Rome Statute.
But Israel did not care about international criminalization, and was not content with military objection. It was quick to promote allegations that the fleet is “allied” with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and that its members are “terrorists.”
However, O’Grady confronted these accusations, saying, “We are used to this, and we expect that they will do everything in their power to try to paralyze us completely.”
For her part, fleet spokeswoman Rana Hamida confirmed that the fleet is moving in accordance with Article 87 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees freedom of navigation in international waters.
Tara O’Grady concludes her statements to Al Jazeera Net by saying that it is time to invest in what we have achieved these days. It is a very influential historical moment for humanity, for the common moral awareness of peoples, and for our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
