What Israel does is based on a political, not a legal, point of view, the FFC lawyer stated.

On Monday, the Freedom Flotilla’s legal team denounced the interception of the 12 activists aboard the Madleen boat as illegal, as it occurred in international waters.

RELATED:

Sea Rescue NGOs Demand the Release of the Freedom Flotilla

“Israel has no authority to arrest anyone in international waters, as they are not under its sovereignty,” said attorney Loubna Tuma.

The attorney, who belongs to the Israeli human rights organization Adalah, also criticized the Israeli authorities for not having reported the activists’ whereabouts or destination at any time.

“For now, we don’t know if they have reached land. We don’t know where they will arrive: whether at the port of Ashdod or somewhere else. We still don’t have this information for sure. But apparently, although it’s not precise, they say they haven’t arrived,” said Tuma near the port of Ashdod, where the Israeli government announced it would take the activists.

At this time, it is unknown whether they have actually been towed there, and the Israeli authorities have not provided further details on their whereabouts. The Flotilla’s legal team has contacted both the office of the Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and the Navy up to nine times to demand information on the situation of the activists detained by the Israeli army early Monday morning.

In a final call, at around 2:30 p.m. local time, the Israeli authorities told the flotilla’s legal teams that they would issue a statement on the matter within the hour, although they have not received anything so far.

“It is very important to emphasize, of course, that the siege of Gaza is illegal,” Tuma noted, given that the Madleen was traveling to the Gaza coast to break the siege and deliver humanitarian aid to the enclave.

Since March 2, Israel has implemented a total blockade on access to food, medicine, and fuel to Gaza, claiming that Hamas is seizing them. On May 19, however, Israel allowed a very limited entry of basic goods.

“The ban on the entry of aid is illegal,” said the lawyer, who still does not know if the 12 people who were aboard the Madleen boat and were detained by Israeli authorities in international waters have reached land or where they will end up.

Tuma pointed out that, once they arrive in Israel, the country is required by law to deport them within 72 hours. Furthermore, the courts in Israel close at 5:00 p.m., so if a decision on the activists is not made by that time, their situation will not be clarified until Tuesday.

The lawyer denounced the Israeli arrest as a political, not a judicial, matter: “Israel is not authorized to detain them, and what it does is based on a political, not a legal, point of view.”

Early Monday morning, the Freedom Flotilla denounced the kidnapping of the Madleen boat by Israeli occupation forces. Among those detained are activist Greta Thunberg and Spaniard Sergio Toribio.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

IN THIS ARTICLE