Add the Gazzetta del Sud as a source
The Israeli Navy has begun intercepting an activist mission headed towards the Gaza Strip to challenge the Israeli naval blockade. The live stream shows Navy commandos boarding one of the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels off the coast of Cyprus.
Previously, Israel had warned “participants in this provocation to change course and turn back immediately.”
Delia (Flotilla): «Already taken 7-8 Italians out of 35 on board»
«About an hour and a half ago, four naval vessels from the Israeli Navy approached with at least six fast vessels and began to surround the boats. Certainly two of the eight boats flying the Italian flag have already been intercepted and some of the 35 Italians on board have already been caught, at least 7 or 8.” Maria Elena Delia, spokesperson for Italy for Global Sumud Flotilla, said this during the demonstration organized by Usb in Rome near Termini station.
«The thing that strikes us is that they are acting for the first time in broad daylight, during the morning, it was something that had never happened. Obviously we fear that the arrested people will be taken to Israel as happened to Saif Abukeshek, who is here at our demonstration today. We hope that this does not happen or the consequences on our part will be important, I take the responsibility of saying this”, underlined Delia.
The boarding 80 miles from Cyprus, in international waters
The Flotilla itself reports on its channels that “military vessels are intercepting” its ships “in broad daylight”, about 80 nautical miles west of the island of Cyprus, in international waters.
The complaint from the Flotilla: «Illegal aggression on the high seas»
“This military encirclement marks the beginning of another illegal aggression on the high seas, four days after 54 civilian boats set sail from Marmaris to establish a humanitarian corridor and break Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza.” This was underlined in a statement from Global Sumud Flotilla.
The precedent of Crete and the 181 activists detained
«This active naval clash is the direct continuation of the illegal Israeli military assault launched just two weeks ago, off the coast of Crete – the statement continues -. During the previous interception over 650 nautical miles from Gaza, within the Greek search and rescue (SAR) zone, Israeli military forces illegally boarded, sabotaged and kidnapped 181 peaceful human rights defenders on board 21 civilian boats, subjecting them to documented detention as well as physical and sexual violence.”
The accusation of violation of the Unclos
“By intercepting the flotilla today at a perimeter of 250 nautical miles and in the special occupation zone of Cyprus – the statement states – the Israeli regime continues to demonstrate a systematic contempt for international maritime law, freedom of navigation on the high seas and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos)”.