Handala crew meeting lawyers as 21 remain illegally detained by Israel

On Saturday 26 July around 10pm UK time, Israeli occupation forces violently and illegally intercepted activist boat the Handala and kidnapped its peaceful, unarmed crew. Contact with the crew was then lost.

The Handala: illegally intercepted by Israel

This civilian mission was dedicated to the children of Gaza and Handala, which sailed as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was en route to Gaza, from Italy, to break through Israel’s illegal genocidal blockade of Gaza.

The Handala was in international waters about 40 nautical miles from Gaza, so was intercepted in violation of international maritime law. It was carrying life-saving humanitarian aid, including baby formula, nappies, food and medicine, which was intended to be directly distributed to Gaza’s population who is starving, and whose medical system has collapsed because of Israel’s intentional total blockade of the Strip, which has been going on since 2 March and has so far caused death by famine and malnutrition of 127 people in Gaza, including 87 children.

Handala’s crew consists of 21 members, from 10 countries – the US, France, the UK, Italy, Tunisia, Iraq, Morocco, Norway, Australia, and Spain – and includes parliamentarians, lawyers, and two Al Jazeera journalists. Two are Jewish.

Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza has been going on since 2007. So, in response to this the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has been carrying out many direct actions. Under the Genocide Convention states have a legal obligation to do everything they possibly can to prevent genocide. However, they are failing to do this. So the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is now using public outrage to try and force governments around the world to act.

Lawyers meeting with some of the crew

The crew of the Handala, who are on hunger strike, were forcibly detained after Israeli naval forces seized the boat, which was then towed to Ashdod Port.

Ann Wright, a member of the Freedom Flotilla’s steering committee, said:

Israel has no legal authority to detain international civilians aboard the Handala. This is not a matter of internal Israeli jurisdiction. These are foreign nationals operating under international law in international waters. Their detention is arbitrary, unlawful and must end.

Adalah is the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. The Canary has been told that its lawyers are now meeting with 19 of the detained Handala volunteers at Ashdod Port, to provide legal advice. The remaining two activists , Bob Suberi and Huwaida Arraf – both dual Israeli and US citizens – have been transferred to the police, where an Adalah lawyer is also present to provide legal support.

This is the third violent attack by the occupation forces against Freedom Flotilla missions this year alone.

Featured image supplied