On Sunday night, the Israeli military intercepted the “Madleen,” the Gaza aid flotilla ship seeking to deliver aid to the besieged enclave. Israeli forces detained the 12 passengers on board, including globally-known humanitarian and Zeteo contributor Greta Thunberg, European Union Member of Parliament Rima Hassan, a journalist, and several other volunteers.
Huwaida Arraf, an organizer with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition who was not on the Madleen, joined Prem in an exclusive town hall discussion on the flotilla effort, the status of the detained crew, and what comes next for them.
The ship, Arraf points out, was sailing under a UK flag. “So, Israel attacked the UK in international waters. We asked the United Kingdom to speak up early and to issue clear warnings to Israel, and we did not hear that they did so. We continue to call on them, not only now, to speak up, but actually to take action and to sanction Israel for attacking this civilian vessel," she says.
Arraf also tells Prem that the calls for massive flotillas are getting louder despite the dangerous attack on last month’s ship, the Conscience, and this week’s seizing of the Madleen. There “absolutely” will be more flotillas to come, and they are “currently working” on just that, she says. “And let the next time we launch a boat to Gaza, let it not be one boat. Let it be hundreds or thousands of boats breaking the siege.”
Arraf herself was on a similar flotilla effort 15 years ago that Israeli forces attacked, killing 10 people and wounding dozens more. Arraf, an international human rights lawyer, co-founded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). American activists Rachel Corrie and Ayşenur Eygi were part of the ISM as they protested against Israel’s settlements in the occupied West Bank; both were killed by Israeli forces.
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Check out more of Zeteo’s coverage of the Gaza aid flotilla :
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