Israel’s illegal boarding and detainment of activists, including Greta Thunberg, is unforgivable
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD — opinion@theaggie.org
On Sept. 1, the Global Sumud Flotilla — constituting 50 vessels and roughly 500 activists on board — set sail toward Gaza. On board the flotilla, there were representatives from 57 countries and more than $110,000 worth of medicines, including respiratory equipment and nutritional supplies intended for Gazan hospitals. The four groups that coordinated the flotilla and all on board shared one common goal: “to break the illegal siege on Gaza by sea, open a humanitarian corridor, and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people,” according to the Global Sumud Flotilla website.
However, their mission was cut short. This past week, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) illegally boarded all vessels and arrested 462 activists, with six still held captive.
“Τhe Fourth Geneva Convention: Articles 23, 55 and 56 impose an obligation to permit the free passage of humanitarian aid and prohibit interference with relief operations or the targeting of civilian infrastructure,” a legal analysis of The Freedom Flotilla reads.
This makes Israel’s seizure and detainment of the aid workers on board illegal under international law — one of Israel’s many violations, according to a United Nations’ Human Rights press release.
Among those aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla were: Greta Thunberg, a 22-year-old Swedish activist; Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela; and Ada Colau, former mayor of Barcelona. While held by Israeli forces, activists claimed that Thunberg, along with other detainees, were “treated terribly” — with some being denied clean water and critical medication. While Israeli officials denied the alleged mistreatment, calling their claims “brazen lies,” thousands of people took to the streets in Spain, India, Italy and Tunisia, among other nations, in support of the flotilla movement and those on board.
Thunberg first garnered global attention in 2018 — at the age of 15 — for putting pressure on governments to address climate change. That same year, she founded Fridays for Future and has since worked to raise awareness about social injustices (beyond addressing environmental concerns, she has condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine and the worsening humanitarian conditions in Palestine) and give a voice to the youth of our generation.
Her activism has garnered both acclaim and criticism in the public eye. It is no secret that President Donald Trump and Thunberg have a fraught history; after Thunberg was expelled from Israel, Trump branded her as “angry” and a “troublemaker,” to which Thunberg replied in an Instagram post.
“I hear Donald Trump has once again expressed his flattering opinions on my character, and I appreciate his concern for my mental health,” Thunberg said. “I would kindly receive any recommendations you might have to deal with these so-called ‘anger management problems,’ since — judging by your impressive track record — you seem to be suffering from them too.”
While this young woman — along with thousands of pro-Palestinian activists, medical professionals, lawmakers and advocates — is fighting to provide basic necessities to a population on the brink of collapse, politicians like Trump are discrediting her work. The Israeli Foreign Ministry went so far as to falsely claim that the Global Sumud Flotilla was organized by Hamas. Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, also labelled the group of activists involved as “terrorists.”
“I was proud that we treat the ‘flotilla activists’ as supporters of terrorism,” Ben-Gvir said in a statement. “Anyone who supports terrorism is a terrorist and deserves the conditions of terrorists.”
This is not the first time that Israel has illegally boarded aid vessels and deported activists: The IDF did the same to Thunberg’s earlier attempt aboard the Madleen in June. In continuously restricting aid from entering the Gaza Strip, Israel is maintaining the state of famine in Palestine, putting the lives of more than half a million Palestinians in danger.
Both the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have “consistently highlighted the extreme urgency for an immediate and full-scale humanitarian response given the escalating hunger-related deaths, rapidly worsening levels of acute malnutrition and plummeting levels of food consumption,” according to the WHO website.
The hunger crisis in Palestine will also have generational consequences on its civilian population; effects of starvation can show up over the course of decades and, as well as severely stunt physical and brain growth — especially when seen in children. More than 54,600 children are facing acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip alone, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
“We inherit the memory of trauma on a molecular basis,” Hasan Khatib, a professor of genetics and epigenetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said.
It is deeply disappointing that in our modern world, we are unable to come together as nations — backed by the strength and resources of our political leaders — in the name of peace and human rights. Grassroots organizations like the Global Sumud Flotilla, along with individual activists, are forced to pick up the slack for the complacency and inaction of world leaders. We need to hold our governments accountable for their behavior and their silence. While a true ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas seems uncertain, keeping an eye on Gaza continues to remain critical.
The Global Sumud Flotilla and Thunberg’s leadership serve as a symbol of solidarity and resistance against Israel’s occupation of Gaza — of a movement that successfully drew global attention back to Palestine, even if they were unable to complete their delivery of life-saving aid. The movement demonstrates a rare instance of global cooperation — of geographically disconnected communities coming together to contribute something far bigger than themselves — to save the people of a nation that, for the past two years, haven’t felt a moment of peace. “Sumud,” the Arabic word for “resilience” or “steadfastness,” perfectly sums up the need to keep fighting, stay vocal and advocate for just and lawful action.
“No one has the privilege to say we are not aware of what is happening. No one in the future will be able to say we did not know. […] We are not even seeing the bare minimum from our governments. Our international systems are betraying Palestinians,” Thunberg said in a live address in Athens after her release. “I could talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment, trust me. But that is not the story. What happened here was that Israel, […] once again violated international law by preventing humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza while people are being starved.”
Written by: The Editorial Board — opinion@theaggie.org
