Explanator
The Madleen was arrested by Israel on the way to Gaza. What happens to Greta Thunberg, Rima Hassan and other activists now?
Israeli forces intercepted Madleen’s help ship in the early hours of Monday morning when it was approaching the banks of Gaza in order to distribute seriously necessary help for the hungry population of the Palestinian enclave.
The ship drew the attention of international media since he sailed from Catania, Italy, about a week ago. While he was approaching the banks of Gaza, speculation was widespread on how the Israelis would react, given their past actions by attacking that help ships sail to provide band supplies.
Israel killed at least 54,880 Palestinians and injured 126,227 since his last war against Gaza began on October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Here is what you need to know about Madleen, its crew and what is going on:
What happened?
Israeli drones surrounded Madleen, launched by the Flédom Flotilla Coalition around 3 am, local time (01:00 GMT). The drones began to spray it with a white paint -shaped substance before the commandos finally took the ship. The nature of the sprayed substance remains clear.
Israeli soldiers ordered the 12 people on board, including Swedish activist from the Greta Thunberg climate, to throw their phones over board. They then filmed a video, handing the sandwiches to the crew members and the bottles of water, and wrote on X that the “selfie yacht” had been arrested.
The ship was carrying humanitarian aid to hungry Palestinians in Gaza due to the strict seat promulgated since March 2. The headquarters were partially lifted last month, but the distribution of aid has since been a calamitic, because Israeli aid has not fired from the Palestinians in Gaza for limited rations, because aid still did not reach a majority of people in Gaza.
Where was Madleen intercepted?
The ship was around 100 naval miles (185 km) from Gaza when it was arrested by Israeli commandos.
It was in international waters at the time. The blockade of Israel of Gaza is deemed illegal by most international governments. Under international law, countries and their soldiers only have sovereign rights over their territorial waters, not on international waters.
Who was on the ship?
There were 12 people on board, the largest profile included Thunberg and Rima Hassan in Sweden, a member of the European Parliament of France.
The others are:
- Yasemin ACAR – Germany
- Baptiste Andre – France
- Thiago Avila – Brazil
- Omar Faiad – France; Correspondent for Tel Aviv Tribune Mubasher
- Pascal Maurieras – France
- Yanis Mhamdi – France
- Suayb Ordu – Turkiye
- Sergio Toribio – Spain
- Marco Van Rennes – Netherlands
- Reva Viard – France
Where is everyone now?
The Israeli media reported that Madleen and its crew members were taken to the port city of Ashdod. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it expected them to return to their country of origin and took advantage of the opportunity to make fun of Thunberg.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that he had asked soldiers to project a propaganda film made up of Images of the October 7 attacks led by Hamas to the Madeleen crew.
“Greta anti -Semitic and his friends supported by Hamas should see exactly what the Hamas terrorist organization – that they came to support and act in the name of – really,” wrote Katz on X.
Did other governments say something?
Yes, some.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Israeli business accusation in Madrid, Dan Poraz, on the interception of Madleen, according to Israeli media.
Turkiye condemned Israel’s refusal to authorize the ship to dock in Gaza. He called Israeli actions “a clear violation of international law”.
“This odious act of the Government of Netanyahu, which threatens the freedom of maritime navigation and security, demonstrates once again that Israel acts as a terrorist state,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
There was no immediate response from the governments of Brazil, Germany, France or the Netherlands – other countries with citizens aboard the Madleen.
The French legislators of the Left Party France Unbowed (LFI) called the interception by Israel of the ship a “clear violation of international law”.