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LAST UPDATE | 2 Oct
THE ORGANISERS of the flotilla taking aid to Gaza have named 16 Irish activists among the roughly 400 participants who were detained by Israeli forces last night, an intervention roundly condemned as a violation of international law in the Dáil today.
In a statement this evening, Irish representatives of the Global Sumud Flotilla named those taken by Israeli forces as:
Caitriona Graham, Chris Andrews, Colm Byrne, Cormac O’Daly, Diarmuid MacDubhghlais, Donna Schwarz, Louise Heaney, Maureen Almai, Michael Fix, Paddy Kelly, Patrick O’Donovan, Sarah Clancy, Tadhg Hickey, Tara O’Grady, Tara Sheehy, Thomas McCune.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that participants in the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla are to be deported to Europe after a large-scale naval interception in the eastern Mediterranean overnight.
“At the end of the operation more than some 400 participants were safely transferred to Ashdod port for processing by the Israel police,” an Israeli official said this evening.
The Dáil heard cross-party condemnation of the raid on the boats today, with a number of TDs describing the taking of the activists by Israeli forces in international waters as “piracy and kidnapping”.
Today’s schedule was changed in order to address the situation with agreement from the government and opposition parties.
Harris agreed that the actions of the Israeli forces were a violation of international law and constituted illegal detention.
Harris said that he and his officials have been in contact with the families of those participants and that they had been working at various diplomatic levels to ensure they are treated in accordance with international law.
Harris also slammed as “outrageous slurs” the Israeli characterisation of the activists as “terrorists” funded by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
He also said he was concerned that there had been “absolutely zero comment from the EU” about the events in the Mediterranean.
Regarding those Irish citizens who have been taken by Israel, Harris said that they can either waive their right to a deportation hearing and leave immediately, or they can choose to go through with a hearing, which normally takes place within 72 hours.
Harris said that he understood this process might be delayed because of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
There was an outpouring of admiration from across the Dáil for the participants in the mission to deliver aid to the starving people of Gaza.
Sinn Féin TD Donncha Ó Laoghaire said they represent “the very best of us” and People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said the mission by the activists put “the best of humanity on display”.
They also condemned the actions of Israel and its apparent impunity when breaking international law.
Murphy called the incident “an act of piracy in international waters”.
“These people have been kidnapped,” he said.
Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan also said they had been “effectively kidnapped” and that Israel is “so emboldened that they feel like they can get away with anything”.
Harris was asked by O’Callaghan why he had not sent Irish personnel to observe the situation, to which the Tánaiste replied that he did not believe it would have made any difference as citizens of countries that did send naval vessels had been treated the same as their Irish companions.
He also said that Spain had promised to treat Irish citizens as their own while accompanying the flotilla.
This evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the actions of his country’s armed forces, saying they “prevented dozens of vessels from entering the war zone and repelled a campaign of delegitimisation against Israel”.
Irish author Naoise Dolan, who is on board a flotilla vessel which is a few days behind the others, told The Journal that those involved were “heartbroken” that essential supplies such as baby formula would not reach Gaza due to the interception.
“We’re heartbroken that the aid and formula didn’t reach those children. It’s such a small amount that’s needed for the chldren there, but it’s the differnece between someone getting to eat or not,” Dolan said.
She described Israel as acting “like a rogue state”, and said passengers had prepared themselves for every possible scenario, from peaceful boarding to unprovoked violence.
Despite this, she stressed that morale on board remained focused: “we don’t have the time or the energy to be worried.”
“We cannot lose that hope, because we would lose our humanity if we did,” Dolan said.
Dolan noted that the Irish government had gone further than in the past in its response, something she credited to sustained pressure from the public. “That’s an achievement of the Irish people,” she said.
She rejected Israeli officials’ attempts to link the flotilla with Hamas, calling the claim contradictory.
“If they genuinely believed we were terrorists or associated with terrorism, then they would treat us the way they treat Palestinians,” she argued.
“They shoot them summarily dead without any evidence. It highlights that, much as Israel are committing crimes against the flotilla, there are still very clear tiers of how they treat people, and they’re conscious of their image to the Western public,” she added.
Dolan also pointed to the fact that one vessel had managed to reach Palestinian waters as a “huge achievement” for the flotilla, even as others were detained.
The flotilla, which set out from Spain last month with nearly 500 activists and a cargo of humanitarian aid, was stopped at sea by up to 14 Israeli navy vessels around 8.30pm local time yesterday.
According to organisers, up to 443 people have since been detained, among them Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews is also among the Irish participants who have been taken.
Activists accused the Israeli military of launching a violent raid in international waters, describing the operation as an “illegal attack on unarmed humanitarians” and a “war crime”.
Footage shared with The Journal shows water cannons being deployed against some of the vessels.
Sinn Féin said Andrews’ boat, the Spectre, was “violently assaulted” and that passengers had been “kidnapped by armed Israeli agents”.
A total of 22 Irish activists joined the flotilla, which organisers say has been entirely intercepted by Israeli forces, excluding their legal vessels and two remaining ships.
One ship — the Mikeno — is less than 20 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza, although the Flotilla tracker shows it is no longer moving. A second boat, the Marinette, is still sailing but is much farther behind.
Israel’s foreign ministry confirmed this morning that it had brought several of the detained vessels to Ashdod port north of the Gaza Strip.
It also warned that the Mikeno would be stopped if it attempted to enter Gaza.
“One last vessel of this provocation remains at a distance. If it approaches, its attempt to enter an active combat zone and breach the blockade will also be prevented,” a ministry statement read.
It stressed that the flotilla passengers were “safe and healthy” and that deportation procedures to Europe were being prepared.
An online tracker used to monitor the flotilla showed that nearly all of their boats have been intercepted.
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard today said that Israel’s interception of the flotilla was a “brazen assault against solidarity activists carrying out an entirely peaceful humanitarian mission.”
“This seizure comes after weeks of threats and incitement by Israeli officials against the flotilla and its participants and after several attempts to sabotage some of its ships,” she added.
With reporting from David Mac Redmond
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