The military of the murderous state of Israel is illegally intercepting vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which carries humanitarian aid and a message of solidarity to Gaza, and is kidnapping its members with complete impunity.
As of early Thursday morning, Israeli forces had intercepted at least 23 of the flotilla’s vessels in international waters.
Their crews have been abducted in violation of International Law and the Law of the Sea.
Among these are four Greek vessels with Greek crews. Communication has been lost with the “Oxygen”, “Vangelis Pissias”, “Pavlos Fyssas”, and “Ahed Tamimi”, which according to March to Gaza were most likely intercepted by Israeli forces. Their crews have allegedly been kidnapped and taken to Israeli prisons.
The deafening silence of the Greek government in the face of violations of International Law against Greek citizens is both appalling and expected. This is a government that shamelessly proclaims Greece a faithful ally of Israel, a state that continues to commit genocide against the Palestinian people, letting them die of starvation, blocking even humanitarian aid.
Its only statement — a humble plea to the Israeli government to ensure the safety of participants — while simultaneously praising, with its familiar subservience, the “diplomatic initiative of the U.S. President”, claiming it is “the first tangible opportunity to end this violent conflict”, is simply shameful.
These, however, are the friendships of the Greek government — not of the Greek people.
The voice of the Greek people was heard yesterday, when within half an hour of the news of the interception of the Greek vessels, thousands gathered outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
They demanded:
- The immediate and safe release and return of the crews
- The unhindered passage of the flotilla to Palestine
And finally, they demanded from the Greek government to take a stand against the crimes of its “strategic ally”, Israel.
THE FLOTILLA CONTINUES ITS COURSE
AGAINST GENOCIDE AND ILLEGAL BLOCKADE
WE STAND BY IT — AND BY THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE
Cultural Association of Kalymnos “I Proodos”
