Sumud Flotilla calls for governments to act over Israel’s sea assault

[0:00] Right, joining us now for more insight is Gur Sabah. [0:02] He's a press officer for the Global Sumud Flotilla. [0:06] He joins us live from Toronto. [0:08] Gur, thank you so much for your time. [0:09] What have you heard from the vessels? [0:11] Yeah, this is just a straight-up attack on civilians in international waters, [0:19] on armed civilian boats hundreds of miles from Israel [0:23] are being surrounded and threatened at gunpoint. [0:28] That's not security. [0:29] It's the use of military force against civilians in international waters. [0:35] This is illegal under international law. [0:38] Israel has no jurisdiction in these waters. [0:42] Intercepting or boarding these vessels would amount to illegal detention, [0:48] potentially kidnapping on the high seas. [0:50] So it's critical that all governments act now. [0:55] Every government has an obligation to protect the over 400 civilians on board [1:02] and uphold international law. [1:04] Silence in this moment is absolute complicity. [1:08] There needs to be immediate intervention to ensure the flotilla's safety [1:14] and to ensure we can continue to open the humanitarian corridor de raza. [1:19] Okay, I want to talk to a few of those points in a moment, [1:22] but can you tell me what communications you've been able to have [1:24] with the people on board the flotilla? [1:27] Yeah, we're in constant communication with all the boats on the flotilla. [1:32] And what we've heard is that the... [1:34] Go ahead. [1:34] No, no, please finish. [1:37] Yeah, no, what we've heard is that Israeli military vessels [1:42] have approached the boats with guns and lasers pointed at participants, [1:47] asking them to move to the front of the boats to get down on their hands and knees. [1:52] This is unconscionable. [1:54] And we're hundreds of miles away from Israel. [1:58] Israel has no business here at all. [2:00] Yeah, it's very clear you have concerns for their safety. [2:04] You've made the point, and this is what I want to dig into here, [2:06] the distance that they are still from Gaza. [2:10] It's maybe to about two-thirds of the journey so far, [2:14] so still a good distance away. [2:15] Are you surprised that the interceptions have started this far out? [2:20] You know, nothing surprises us anymore by the IOF and the Zionist state. [2:28] There is no bottom to their behavior, [2:30] which we have seen day in, day out in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Yemen, in Iran. [2:36] There is no bottom to how they think about things, [2:39] and this is par for the course. [2:41] Nothing surprises us here anymore. [2:43] Okay. Talk us through what is actually aboard the flotilla. [2:46] If you were, you know, telling our audience about what is so badly needed [2:50] in the occupied territories that it is coming in on these boats. [2:56] Yeah, I mean, look, these are, it's important to remember, [2:59] these are civilians stepping in where governments have failed. [3:03] We are, we have boats, some are super small, some are slightly larger, [3:09] that are bringing some aid, but the idea here is to open up a humanitarian corridor to Gaza, [3:16] to break Israel's illegal siege on Gaza and on Gaza's shoreline. [3:21] So that's, that's what we're trying to do. [3:24] Yeah, I guess because it's less about then the goods and the items you're carrying, [3:28] given the size of the population that is in dire need of aid, [3:31] and more about the message that is being sent. [3:33] It's about the message, and it's about mechanically opening up a humanitarian corridor [3:39] so that then proper amounts of aid can actually flow into Gaza. [3:45] Make no mistake, Israel has further shut down entry of aid into Gaza, [3:52] especially since the ceasefire, and especially since they started attacking Iran. [3:58] They have, they have sealed Gaza. [4:00] They have sealed, they're sealing the West Bank. [4:03] They are stopping all aid from coming in. [4:06] The genocide is continuing. [4:08] The starvation levels are at unconscionable levels. [4:12] The health care system has, is in practical collapse. [4:16] So the fact that civilians are now out in sea, in sea, [4:22] doing what governments should have long been doing is, is, is beyond unconscionable. [4:26] But it's also to keep sending a message to Israel and the world that when governments fail, [4:32] we civilians will keep going to make sure that, that Palestine is freed. [4:37] Can we talk about the, the, the keep sending of the message? [4:41] Because these flotillas have been a feature for many, many years, which obviously speaks to a need. [4:47] But at the same time, why, can you talk to us? [4:49] Why do you keep persisting when Israel is so determined and so successful at stopping them? [4:55] Well, it's important to not think about, you know, the, the flotillas have a ton of impacts. [5:02] The sea activates the shore. [5:05] We have to remember that every time a flotilla moves towards Gaza, so much happens around the world, around the flotillas. [5:13] Last year, around this exact same mission of the Global Samud Flotilla, we saw Italian dock workers hit the, hit, hit the ports in incredibly huge numbers. [5:26] We saw citizens in Italy come out in the millions to protest and to support the flotilla. [5:33] This happens at every port we stop in. [5:36] And it's also just used to, to, to be perfectly frank, to insert Gaza back into the media bloodstream. [5:42] We know that since the ceasefire, the supposed ceasefire, which is clearly not a ceasefire, since that was enacted, that has completely shut Gaza out of the news stream. [5:55] So this serves a lot of different purposes, and that's why this keeps going. [5:59] That's why activists and organizers keep doing these flotillas year after year after year to create exactly this moment in time, exactly this pressure, exactly this time. [6:11] And why I'm even on here, right? [6:13] And Al Jazeera is on the, is on the better side of things than, than most, than, than certainly Western media. [6:20] So it's, this, this is the point. [6:23] Gursaba, thank you very much for your time on the program. [6:26] And we will, of course, join you again so you can keep us updated. [6:30] Thank you. [6:31] All right, we're going to go now to Jack Barton, who joins us live from Amman. [6:37] Jack, Israeli media is reporting that these interceptions have begun. [6:41] It is still a long way out from Gaza. [6:43] What are Israeli authorities saying about it? [6:49] Yeah, that's right. [6:50] So far, it's still coming from anonymous sources, but Israeli media and even Israeli army radio reporting, [6:58] having talked to Israeli sources, that they are confirming that this is an Israeli intercept. [7:05] I just spoke to an activist on one of the vessels in the flotilla, [7:09] and he was saying that they're playing music over the radio, as well as telling people to turn back. [7:16] It's the same music they were playing last year in that big intercept when we saw boats boarded and people detained. [7:23] Still unclear what's happening, but the, the person on that boat told me it is still happening right now, [7:30] that the entire flotilla is surrounded. [7:32] Those warnings are still being broadcast across the, the radio. [7:37] They're being told that they are breaking international law, even though they're in international waters, [7:42] and they're being told to turn back. [7:45] There have been those reports on the flotilla, [7:48] social media of the guns being aimed at people, lasers, [7:53] people being told to get on their hands and knees. [7:55] I asked the activist, he said he hadn't seen anything like that himself. [8:00] But of course, this is a huge flotilla. [8:03] It's believed to be 80 to 100 boats, the biggest flotilla yet, [8:08] with people from around 60 countries. [8:11] They're saying about a thousand people in total. [8:13] So it's still a very mixed picture. [8:16] All of this, of course, coming also just after Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, [8:22] put a sanction on a group that had been fundraising for this flotilla. [8:27] So that announcement came out and then this action took place. [8:30] And you mentioned the distance from Gaza. [8:33] In theory, Palestinians are meant to have control over 12 nautical miles off the shore of Gaza. [8:39] Most Israeli intercepts are at around 20. [8:42] And the big intercept we saw last year was 72. [8:45] That's about 133 kilometers. [8:47] This one would be about 1,400 kilometers away. [8:51] If they are off the southern coast of Greece. [8:54] So this would represent 10 times further than any previous Israeli intercept. [8:59] And that's why perhaps there was so much disbelief at the start. [9:03] And while they were saying people are self-identifying at Israel, [9:06] some activists believing it was still the Greek Navy or the Coast Guard. [9:10] Yeah. [9:10] And obviously it would be slightly confusing given where it is [9:13] and that these are events that are still unfolding. [9:15] What do we know then or what do we think Israel plans to do from this point forward [9:20] with those people aboard the ships from here and also given the distance that they are? [9:25] We don't know. [9:31] Again, as this activist has told me, this is still ongoing and surrounded. [9:36] And it's unclear whether the boats are being boarded or whether at this point it is still just a warning [9:42] in an attempt to disperse the flotilla. [9:45] The activist I was speaking to said he hadn't seen any of the boats boarded, [9:50] but we have seen those other social media messages [9:54] which indicate a more assertive sort of stance on at least several of the vessels. [10:00] But we're going to have to wait and see what is actually happening out there. [10:04] It is a long way away. [10:06] At the moment, it could just be an attempt to try and disrupt the flotilla, [10:11] to split it up and turn some of those boats back. [10:14] But it is certainly a bold move in international waters so far from Gaza [10:20] to attempt something like this and to send the Navy so far out. [10:25] But again, this is happening as we speak. [10:27] These boats are surrounded right now. [10:29] They're being warned over the radio right now. [10:31] We're going to have to wait a little bit of time to find out what is actually happening [10:36] and what the intention of the Israeli Navy is. [10:40] Jack Barton joining us live from Oman. [10:42] Thank you.