7/29/2025–|Last update: 01:49 (Mecca time)
Al -Jazeera correspondent in Paris, Mohamed Al -Baqali, returned to Charles de Gaulle Airport, after the Israeli occupation authorities kept him after his arrest in the crew of the “Handala” ship, which sailed in an attempt to break the siege on the Gaza Strip.
The journey that started from the Italian port of Gallipoli was supposed to end on the beaches of Gaza, but it was subjected to international waters, and the Israeli navy took control of it by force, before it started a harsh journey from investigation and detention.
Al -Baqali describes the moment of storming that it was expected, as the crew prepared by wearing survival jackets, and immediately announced the hunger strike, in protest against the “public relations campaign” that the Israeli army usually carried out by filming the distribution of water and food to the detainees to give a false human nature.
Al -Baqali confirms – in his speech to Al -Jazeera Net – that the journey was not an attempt to penetrate the borders, but rather a moral appeal to break the wall of silence, indicating in this context that what the participants carried was not a weapon but rather a “novel that condemns the siege and exposes the world’s silence on genocide in Gaza.”
According to the Moroccan journalist, “Handala” was accompanied between 8 to 10 war boats throughout the trip that lasted for nearly 12 hours to the port of Ashdod, where they were received by the police and Israeli security representatives, who dealt with visible and apparent rudeness from the first moment.
Upon arrival, activists chanted the slogan “Freedom for Palestine” with one voice, which sparked the anger of the Israeli soldiers, and turned the official anger into personal anger against the activists, manifested in direct threats and psychological war during interrogation and detention.
Rudeness
Al -Jazeera correspondent notes that dealing with activists, especially the participants of non -Arab nationalities, was hostile, and in particular, an American of African origin was exposed to harsh treatment, stressing that all detainees faced deteriorating conditions inside the cells.
The detainees were deprived of any contact with the outside world, according to Al -Baqali, and they were not allowed to enter the bathroom except under control, and they had to keep the doors open to the cameras, even in the dungeon narrow space.
It reveals that the list of accusations against the detainees was absurd, as they were falsely accused of possession of drugs and the association with terrorist organizations, although the mission was a clear humanity, according to what the activists stressed before the occupation authorities.
Despite the release of some activists -including Al -Baqali, the French MP Gabriel Catala, the photographer of the island, and two citizens from America and Italy -the fate of 14 other activists is still unknown, in light of the interruption of information and conflicts of accounts.
In this context, Al -Baqali again appealed to the necessity of the release of his colleagues, who are still in detention in the “Jafehoun” prison, stressing that some of them continue to strike on food, in protest against the procedures for forced deportation and occupation practices.
He believed that the Israeli dealing from the moment of objection until the deportation reflects a clear desire to silence the witnesses and prevent the novel from reaching public opinion, stressing that the story is stronger than the siege, and that it will reach the world despite attempts to blur.
The journey is not over
On the moment of departure, Al -Baqali said that what happened “is not the end of the journey, but rather a start to a new narration,” stressing that the “Handala” ship, even if it did not reach Gaza, but it brought the world a step from the suffering of its inhabitants, and revealed to the world the truth of what is going on in light of the blackout.
Meanwhile, the repercussions of the detention of the “Handala” ship interacting, at a time when the “Samoud” coalition is preparing to launch one of the largest civilian marine convoys, with the participation of boats from 39 countries, in a new symbolic attempt to break the siege on the sector.
This initiative carries a humanitarian and civil character, and aims to expose the silence of governments regarding the crimes of the ongoing war in Gaza, and to confirm that global popular solidarity is still able to overcome maritime and political walls at the same time.
It is noteworthy that the “Adalah” human rights center confirmed – in a statement – that all the arrested activists rejected the procedures for rapid deportation, and insisted on providing legal pleadings proving the legitimacy of their humanitarian movement, and they also continued their hunger strike inside the detainee.
Al -Baqali stressed that the battle today is no longer only to break the maritime blockade, but to break the wall of international collusion, and to restore consideration to the voice of the witness and the human being, in the face of an occupying system that does not accept its crimes.