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LAST UPDATE | 4 Jun
I WAS PRIVILEGED to be in Catania over the past week to see the Madleen embark on its mission to deliver vital humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
The Madleen is one of the boats of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which hopes to bring about an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza. The boat departed Sicily on Sunday carrying a dozen activists along with food, medicine and other supplies.
Two million Gazans have suffered under siege by Israel for many months now. I arrived at the port and was met with a feeling of hope, care and bravery. There is no freedom without solidarity, and the Freedom Flotilla is solidarity.
The mission represents the very best of our shared humanity, and the fact that, despite the intimidation we are subjected to and the attempts to silence and deceive by the aggressor and their allies, the arc of the moral universe will always bend towards justice.
The delivery of humanitarian aid is vital, but so too is the message that the Madleen carries with it — that this genocide in Gaza must be brought to an end, and the foundations laid for the ultimate liberation of the Palestinian people from their oppressor.
Liberation is not merely an academic thought exercise, it is an active living and breathing thing inside the people of the world, especially the Irish people, who long endured an occupation of their own. It is unconscionable what is happening in Gaza, and the Freedom Flotilla is a lighthouse in a very dark time for our humanity.
When international law is routinely undermined, and where the multilateral fora responsible for promoting peace, equality and human rights around the world fail to hold nation states to account for war crimes, activists and organisers are left with little choice but to place themselves in harm’s way in the pursuit of justice.
Here in Ireland, we must add to their chances of breaking the siege by adding our voice and solidarity to their mission, so they and the world know we continue to watch and will not stand for the destruction and interception of humanitarian missions.
It is highly likely that the Israeli authorities will attempt to obstruct or intercept this critical humanitarian mission. Just four weeks ago, the ship Conscience was subject to drone attacks by Israel shortly before the commencement of its humanitarian mission to Gaza from Malta.
Despite these attacks occurring just outside of Maltese territorial waters, the European Union has done nothing to hold the perpetrator to account.
In 2010, another humanitarian mission by the Freedom Flotilla was violently intercepted by the Israeli authorities on its approach to Gaza, with 10 activists and crew members being killed. Israel was never held to account. For as long as the international community fails to uphold international law, the Israeli authorities will continue to act with the impunity they have been empowered with.
We know that Israel, with the support of the United States, is currently seeking to privatise the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, sidelining the United Nations and the World Food Programme.
Despite the risks, the activists on the Madleen are undertaking too critical a mission not to continue; to deliver vital humanitarian aid to a suffering people now at risk of enforced famine by their oppressor. Where humanity fails, human rights defenders will always defy, and the Irish Government must now publicly call for safe passage; silence is not an option.
I have heard government leaders say that nobody has a monopoly over concern or compassion for the Palestinian people, but what Governments and media need to realise is that they have a monopoly over resources, power and political relationships and therefore what they do on an international stage matters.
It is absolutely imperative that Western governments and international and multilateral organisations now pull every lever at their disposal to bring this genocide of historic proportions to an end.
Governments should use the remaining diplomatic channels to implore Israel to end the blockade and siege of Gaza and to facilitate the safe and unobstructed passage of critical humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. A business-as-usual approach to relations with Israel cannot continue — we must impose sanctions, sever trade ties, and prevent the transfer of munitions of war, which are fuelling the genocide.
If we do not act now, our fingerprints will mark the annihilation of the Palestinian people through our complicity. The freedom flotilla is a peaceful act of civil resistance, and should not be met with hostility by the Israeli authorities, and our attention on it can help to ensure it arrives in Gaza safely.
The activists are trained in non-violence and are motivated only by the principles of human rights and global justice. In circumstances where the vessel is met with hostility, it is incumbent on the rules-based order to defend the activists and their expression of humanity and solidarity for the Palestinian people.
I do not believe there is a time, not even a second, when Ireland does not support what is right. We have demonstrated that time and time again with the consistent commitment of the Irish people to the people of Gaza.
Just today, we have heard reports from the United Nations that aid from the US and Israeli-backed Humanitarian Foundation is to be suspended following a day of open fire on Palestinians seeking aid, killing at least 27 people.
With that in mind, what can one boat of people do against the might of the Israeli army, you might ask? Well, the act of non-violent resistance has always had a place in conflicts throughout history. Martin Luther King Jr said, “Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals”. When everything has gone dark and humanity feels powerless against the brutality of a regime, the deliberate highlighting of that brutality in a non-violent way can be a powerful thing.
The activists of the Madleen are risking their own lives to highlight the horrific cruelty of the Israeli government against the Palestinians in Gaza. If those seeking aid are targets, then so too are those seeking to bring that aid, so all eyes must be firmly on the Freedom Flotilla; their lives depend on it.
Lynn Ruane is an independent senator.
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