Following the Israeli foreign Ministry statement on the seizure of Madleen, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition confirmed that the IDF took over the sailboat carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza, at 0302 this morning, noting that the ‘army abducted the crew and confiscated its shipment, including baby milk, basic foodstuffs and medical supplies’.
An activist video prior to communications being cut off shows passengers with their hands up and following soldiers orders to throw their phones overboard.
In the swift operation, ‘Madleen’ was surrounded by Israeli gunboats with their headlights off and sounds alarms turned on. As the crew said, two drones approached the sailboat and released a white chemical which caused eye irritation, following which the soldiers climbed on board.
Freedom Flotilla organiser, attorney Huwaida Arraf said that Israel had no legal authority to hold international volunteers on the Madleen. ‘The action is a blatant violation of international law and in defiance of an International Court Order calling for unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza’, Arraf stressed, adding that the volunteers cannot by criminalised for trying to deliver aid.
Their detention is unlawful, she concluded.
