The family ship in which members of the Organization’s Steering Committee travel as Greta Thunberg but also the former mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau It has been attacked “so it is suspected that it is a drone”. This has been confirmed this morning from the collective. Although they still investigate what has happened, they have been able to confirm that “All passengers and crew are safe”. The attack has occurred with the ship docked in Tunisia waiting to sail towards Gaza with other ships from Greece or Italy.
The Global Sumud Flotilla has made public a video in which you can see how An artifact clashes, exploits and turns on fire in the bow of the ship, which sails under the Portuguese flag. As soon as the drone explosion “near a diesel tank”, the six crew members that were on board begin to scream “Help!” (“aid!”). The organization, which continues to investigate what happened, ensures that “Aggression acts destined to intimidate and derail” the mission They will not serve to deter them. “Our peaceful mission of breaking the siege of Gaza and being supportive with his people continues with determination,” they said in a statement.
The attack has also been denounced by the United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinian occupied territories, Francesca Albanese, which is in Tunisia to support the Global Sumud Flotilla. In their social networks, Albanese has reported that they try to “clarify the facts with local authorities.” In a video, the UN rapporteur recalled that “There is a story of attacks and threats against the flotilla by Israel”. “If it is confirmed that it is a drone, it will have been an attack and an aggression against Tunisia and its sovereignty”he has denounced from the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou.
Activist Yasemin Care, who also travels in the family, has denounced the same as Albanese. “This illegal act (if it was really a drone) is a crime that violates the sovereignty of Tunisia”he recalled. A few days ago, Care on the flotilla ships that sailed from Barcelona when they were just 90 nautical miles from the island of Menorca.
Since 2008 and shortly after establishing a blockade of gaza by land, sea and air, Israel has not allowed the entry into Palestine of any ship of the different fleets that have been organized. In 2010, the Israeli army assaulted the Fleeta de la Libertad and murdered a dozen activists from the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara. Fifteen years later, the Benjamin Netanyahu government continues with the sending of elite teams of the Israeli military forces to prevent the arrival of more ships. The last attempts were those of the Conscience ships last May, the Madleen in June and the Handala in July. While the first was attacked by drones, Israel assaulted the last two, arrested its crew and deported them.
A few days ago, The Israeli government threatened all members of the Global Sumud Flotilla. Israel has warned not only that it will not consent to its entry in Gaza, but. Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has proposed a plan according to which activists that are arrested will be sent to Ketziot and Damon prisons in “prolonged arrests.” In addition, Ben-Gvir has threatened to confiscate all the ships that participate in the flotilla, more than 40, as happened on previous occasions despite the fact that these ships sailed through international waters. The Israel government intends not only to keep the ships but also reuse them for the army.
For its part, Tunisian authorities have denied the attack. , the General Directorate of the National Guard has assured that the denounced facts are “completely unfounded.” “According to the first investigations, the fire occurred in one of the life jackets of the ship because of a lighter or a clue, and it was not a hostile act or an external attack,” they explain in the aforementioned medium.
