Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents
7/24/2025–|Last update: 21:27 (Mecca time)
While the Israeli starvation machine continues against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian -American lawyer and activist Howaida Arfa chose to sides the word “no” in the face of collective surrender.
The activist raised the slogan “No to the siege, not to silence, not to the occupation”, and made from that word a ship sailing towards what is not allowed to reach, defying by sea and authority, and is designed to break the siege imposed on Gaza since 2007.
Since last Sunday, the “Handala” ship continued sailing towards Gaza, in a new endeavor to break the siege, and complete a long path of peaceful confrontation with the Israeli occupation, in defense of the right of the Palestinians to life and dignity.
On this ship, Gaza is not merely a besieged geography, but rather turns into a symbol that challenges the siege, and hopes that people still cling to that they believe that justice has a voice that can cross the seas. For Huida and the crew of “Handhala”, their role is not limited to testimony to injustice, but rather to its resistance and participation in its confrontation.
The beginning from the sea
Speaking to Al -Jazeera Net, on board the “Handala” ship, Howaida evoked the fortune -teller of its previous flight stations, stressing that Gaza was never a passing destination, but was a symbol of the meaning of justice when the states abandoned it, and for dignity when the laws were absent.
Howaida was among the activists who participated in the first marine break of the siege on Gaza, when the “Freedom” and “Free Gaza” ships arrived at the shores of the Strip in August 2008, in a move that confused Israeli and international accounts at the same time.
“We challenged the siege, and we asked the world to move behind us, because what Israel is doing is contrary to international law, which is collective punishment and war crime.”
And she continued: “We entered the sea despite all the warnings, and we arrived in Gaza without permission from Israel, and we stayed there a few days before we left. There was a small child who cut his leg and wanted to travel for treatment, but Israel refused. The siege was not merely a ban, but rather a form of slow death.”
Howaida added: “We do not accept this reality, and we do not accept that children deliberately in this world and we are silent.
We will not surrender
The activist who participated in the founding of the global solidarity movement, also remembered her participation in the “Mavi Marmara” ship in 2010, which was attacked by an Israeli attack that killed 10 volunteers, wounded dozens and kidnapped about 700 civilians while sailing the ship in international waters.
Howaida described the fortune -teller of those moments by saying, “They stormed the ship, killed and kidnapped the activists, and Israel thought that violence would deter us, but we organized a new fleet one year later.”
She emphasized that “the fleet was not only to transfer aid, but also a political and humanitarian position that the Palestinian people deserve freedom and lifting the siege. But the challenges were not limited to the sea, but also included the political side, as Israel began coordination with Mediterranean countries to prevent ships from sailing towards Gaza, and this is very unfortunate.”
Public crime
Howaida Arfa today is in her ninth participation in the siege breaking trips, but she believes that “the situation has become worse than ever.”
“In 2008, I thought that Israel was deceiving the world, and that if we exposed its practices, people will discover the truth, but today, the world sees the same crime, but it is silent.”
“The siege is a flagrant violation of international law, a war crime used as a tool for ethnic cleansing and genocide. Israel does not even allow infant formula to Gaza, and extermination is practiced publicly in front of the world, while countries are watching without shame.”
Despite this dark reality, Howaida does not lose its belief in the ability of peoples to bring about change, saying: “There are millions around the world stand by our side, but governments in America and Europe have chosen to pass these policies, to make strength really, injustice legally, and silence a position.”
Arafa continues her speech with a voice in which emotion mixes with steadfastness, and says: “I know that what we do is difficult, especially for me as a mother. I leave my children on every trip, and I realize that I may not return. But I cannot look at their eyes and silence what the children of Gaza are exposed to. I cannot ask my children to live in a world that sees the massacres and silences.”
At the end of her speech, Howaida returns to the sea, where the story began “if we can reach this time, we want to establish a permanent line towards Gaza. We do not want the Strip to remain isolated. This sea is not owned by Israel, and we will not leave it for it.”
