Why Does 'Israel' Always Thwart Any Attempt to Break Its Blockade on Gaza?

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition's humanitarian aid ship, the Madleen, ended its voyage without reaching its intended destination. 

Instead of arriving at the shores of the besieged Gaza Strip carrying humanitarian aid and messages of global solidarity, the Israeli army seized it and arrested its crew.

The Israeli Army Ministry announced that the activists of various nationalities on board the ship would be deported to their countries of origin in the coming period. 

Meanwhile, the Israeli forces published clips and photos documenting the moments of the operation, a move that sparked widespread global reactions.

Through their participation in several hashtags, most notably #MadleentoGaza, #Madleen, #BreakIsraelsSiege, many activists emphasized that the mere interception of the ship constitutes a violation of international maritime law. 

They pointed out that the detention, interrogation, and subsequent forcible deportation of international activists is a clear violation of the rights to freedom of expression and movement.

Israel’s interception of the Madleen is not without precedent. On May 2, the FFC ship Conscience was seriously damaged during a drone attack while carrying humanitarian aid bound for Gaza. The attack ended its voyage.

In 2010, a group of six vessels called the Gaza Aid Flotilla sailed to Gaza to breach the Israeli blockade. 

The largest of the ships, the Mavi Marmara, was raided by Israeli forces in international waters, killing 10 people and wounding 56, sparking international legal scrutiny and condemnation. 

However, Israel's flimsy pretexts for the blockade of the Gaza Strip continue to this day.

Madleen to Gaza

On June 1, the Madleen aid ship departed Italian ports carrying 12 activists of various nationalities, in an attempt to break the naval blockade imposed on the besieged Strip for more than 17 years.

Among the most prominent activists on board were the renowned Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, the French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, the French journalist Yanis Mhamdi, the French activist and doctor Baptiste Andre, and the Germany-Turkish research Professor Yasemin Acar, among others.

The ship was carrying a symbolic shipment of aid, including baby formula, rice, and medical supplies, to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza, in an effort to draw international attention to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Strip that has been raging for more than three months.

The ship was named after Madleen Kulab, the first Palestinian female fisherman in the Gaza Strip. Kullab lost her father and her livelihood after the outbreak of the Israeli war in October 2023.

At dawn on June 9, the FFC, which chartered the ship, announced that the Israeli army had intercepted the ship in international waters at around 2:00 a.m. and taken it to the port of Ashdod in the occupied Palestinian territories, accusing “Israel” of a clear violation of international law.

Huwaida Arraf, an official with the organization, confirmed that Israel had no legal authority to detain the international volunteers on board the Madleen.

Adalah, the Israeli human rights organization representing the Madleen’s 12 crew members, accused Israeli authorities of arbitrarily detaining the activists on board, demanding that they urgently reveal their whereabouts.

Later, it was announced that Swedish activist Thunberg and four others had agreed to be deported to their countries, while eight other activists were reported to have refused deportation and remain in Israeli detention centers.

The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza (ICBSG) described “Israel” as a state of war criminals, calling on activists worldwide to continue supporting the solidarity activists detained by Israel on board the ship.

Israeli Narrative

“Israel” launched a campaign to justify its seizure of the Madleen, after the diplomatic incident sparked angry reactions around the world.

Israeli Army Minister Israel Katz issued instructions this week to prevent the ship from reaching Gaza, justifying this by claiming that “Israel” would not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, which is primarily intended to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas.

Israeli authorities worked to discredit activists by labeling them as Hamas sympathizers or mere propagandists, aiming to undermine international solidarity efforts and deter future challenges. 

They also alleged that Thunberg and others attempted to organize a media provocation with the sole purpose of personal propaganda.

“The celebrity selfie yacht is safely heading toward the Israeli coast, and the passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” she added. 

This tactic is not new. Successive Israeli governments have consistently linked all forms of solidarity with Palestinians to anti-Semitism, attempting to shuffle the deck and transform the debate from a matter of human rights into an ostensibly existential battle.

The Israeli media also reported statements attributed to military officials confirming that the operation was carried out peacefully and without casualties, a narrative aimed at appeasing international public opinion.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had instructed the Prison Service to prevent any means of communication from being brought into the activists' detention facilities, in an attempt to isolate them and prevent their testimonies about what happened from being leaked.

This decision reflects the Israeli establishment's concern that this case could turn into an international scandal or that embarrassing scenarios for “Israel” could recur, as happened previously with the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident in 2010.

On his part, US President Donald Trump mocked the incident, saying: “I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg.  She's a strange person. She's a young, angry person. I don't know if it's real anger — it's hard to believe.”

Some Western newspapers adopted the Israeli narrative, including the Daily Mail, which explicitly took sides, repeating the Israeli government's assertions regarding the legitimacy of the naval blockade of Gaza.

The ship was described as a media propaganda tool, noting that the activists brought only a small portion of the aid, in coverage that gave little space to the human rights or humanitarian narrative, focusing instead on Israel's security justifications.

Global Solidarity

Governments and NGOs have condemned Israel’s interception in international waters of the Madleen aid ship, which sought to bring attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by Israel’s devastating war.

After “Israel” stopped the Madleen aid ship, angry demonstrations took place in the UK, France and Switzerland, according to media reports.

European lawmakers denounced the action as a blatant violation of law and part of a strategy to starve Gaza. 

In the first official European response, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Israeli Charge d'Affaires in Madrid, Dan Poraz, to protest the interception of the ship.

In turn, the German ambassador to Tel Aviv, Steffen Seibert, announced that his government is in contact with the Israeli authorities regarding the fate of the passengers, noting that the safety of the citizens has been confirmed, and they have been asked to leave the country.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris said that what happened reflects the world's failure to shoulder its responsibility, noting that the hunger in Gaza is a stain on the international community.

“By forcibly intercepting and blocking the Madleen, which was carrying humanitarian aid and a crew of solidarity activists, Israel has once again flouted its legal obligations towards civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip,” Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said in a statement.

“We strongly condemn the cowardly and illegal Israeli attack on the Madleen as it approached Gaza with desperately needed humanitarian supplies,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations said.

Former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has condemned Israel’s seizure of the Madleen aid ship in international waters.

“Its interception is just as illegal as the siege it was trying to break. The flotilla was not just carrying life-saving aid. It was carrying solidarity, hope and our shared humanity,” he said.

“The Madleen sent a strong message that the struggle to stop Israeli crimes continues,” as Yara Hawari wrote in an opinion piece.

“The Madleen did not make it to Gaza’s shores. Yet its crew exposed an obscenity that has repulsed western citizens, who will one day force their governments to cease their complicity – which is why, in the end, Israel will lose,” said Guardian columnist and activist Owen Jones.

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