GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA INTERCEPTED: HUMANITARIAN MISSION BLOCKED
We confirm that the Israeli occupation forces have ambushed the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters, detaining some of the delegates and attacking the vessels with drones and water cannons. These actions represent yet another attempt to silence voices of solidarity and to prevent even the smallest lifeline of relief from reaching Gaza. This is illegal under international law.
The GSF was carrying civilians committed to drawing attention to the devastating conditions faced by Palestinians. Their mission is peaceful. Their objective is humanitarian. Their interception exposes once more the reality that Gaza is held under siege not only by walls and checkpoints, but by warships, drones and policies of isolation.
The GSF is aligned with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which specifically require Israel to take all measures within its power to enable the provision of urgently needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza without hindrance. Yet, as South Africa has consistently highlighted in its advocacy before the Court and in its leadership role as co-chair and founding member of The Hague Group, Israel has to date failed to comply with these binding measures, and the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
These attacks and detention of unarmed civilians cannot erase the truth. Gaza is enduring one of the most severe humanitarian crises of our time. More than two million people, half of them children, live in conditions described by international observers as uninhabitable. Food insecurity, medical shortages, and mass displacement have reached catastrophic levels.
The courage of those on the flotilla has already delivered its message: the blockade and man-made famine is indefensible. The Global Sumud Flotilla - RSA demands the immediate and unconditional release of all the delegates with full access to their lawyers, and for Israel to respect all international laws and measures governing the protection of civilians and humanitarian missions, the unhindered delivery of the humanitarian aid and the lifting of the siege that continues to strangle Gaza.
We call on the South African Government to act without delay to secure the safe return of its citizens, and on the international community to hold Israel accountable for this unlawful act against a peaceful humanitarian mission. More than this, we call on all states to actively support and protect those participating in this noble mission, ensuring the safety of all humanitarian actors from the unlawful and repeated attacks by the Israeli Military forces against humanitarian convoys and civilian missions, which run counter to international law and Security Council resolutions.
The Genocide that Israel is perpetrating by laying siege to Gaza and the settler theft of Palestinian lands and homes as well as the ongoing detention without trial of civilians especially children must end immediately.
This and the blocking of the GSF are acts of a desperate illegitimate regime which has enjoyed impunity for too long.
We as people of the world remain committed to the cause for justice and an end to settler colonial apartheid state.
Freedom for Palestine! Stop the Genocide! Justice for All!
