B.C. Indigenous elder among those injured & jailed in illegal capture of Al Awda by Israel
Another Canadian captains sailing vessel Freedom, arriving soon
Following the illegal attack on the Freedom Flotilla motor vessel Al Awda (The Return) on Sunday July 29, a few of the people who were on board have been released, but most of the crew and participants are still in unlawful detention at Givon prison in Israel, including Stó:lō First Nation elder Larry Commodore, from near Chilliwack B.C. UPDATE: we just learned from our legal support team that Larry is due to appear in Israeli court tomorrow, August 1.Although the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) claim that the capture of our vessel happened ‘without exceptional incident’, eye-witness Zohar Chamberlain Regev reports that at the time of boarding: “People on board were tasered and hit by masked IOF soldiers. We did not get our passports or belongings before we got off the boat. Do not believe reports of peaceful interception.” We are still gravely concerned for their safety and well-being as more reports emerge of the violence used by Israeli Occupation Forces in their assault and capture of our boat. A military attack on a civilian vessel is a violent act and a violation of international law. Taking 22 people from international waters to a country which is not their destination constitutes an act of kidnapping, which is also unlawful under the international Convention of the Law of Sea. We continue to demand that our boat and the medical supplies on board reach their rightful recipients, Palestinian civil society in Gaza.From the time we lost contact around 13:15 local time on Sunday, we know that the IOF blocked all communication signals, including satellite phones. We are very concerned about this violation of journalists’ right to report freely and we remain gravely concerned about their ability to keep their professional equipment and their storage media. As Australian journalist Chris Graham, currently also in detention, observed a few days before the attack “Bad things happen when good people stay silent, as history well records. But horrendous things happen when media are prevented from scrutinizing the actions of a state.”Two Freedom Flotilla participants who are Israeli citizens have been charged with attempting to enter Gaza and conspiracy to commit a crime, and were released on bail last night. One of them, boat leader Zohar Chamberlain Regev, reports seeing blood on the dock were the last participants were being removed from the ship.In comparison with the violence routinely directed at Palestinian civilians, including at fishers from Gaza, and the violent capture of Palestinian fishing boats, yesterday’s seizure and kidnapping may not be the most serious of Israeli crimes. What these violent acts have in common is that there is no accountability demanded by other governments and Israel continues to enjoy total impunity.We call on national governments, civil society and international organizations to demand that Israeli authorities immediately release our boat so that we can deliver our much-needed medical supplies on Al Awda and the fishing boat itself to the rightful recipients in Gaza. Detailed specification of our exact cargo on board are available on request. To date, there has been no response to our open letter to Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and through its silence Canada remains complicit in Israeli crimes.Israel’s capture of the lead boat in this Gaza-bound flotilla may seem like a predictable outcome to some, but that doesn’t make it any less violent nor any less illegal. Our second Flotilla boat, the Swedish-flagged sailing boat Freedom which is skipered by CanadianJohn Turnbull, will follow Al Awda within a day or two. The Freedom Flotilla will continue until the blockade ends and Palestinians of Gaza regain their full freedom of movement.Details about detainees still in prison, including their last videos and personal statements, can be found on the Freedom FlotillaFacebook pages and website.
Please take action to support all those in detention: https://jfp.freedomflotilla.org/news/sos-just-future-for-palestine and please share widely!
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For more information, contact our media spokespeople:
- David Heap (français; español; English) (+1) 519-859-3579
Twitter: @CanadaBoatGaza @GazaFFlotilla
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