Germany and US prevent Freedom Flotilla from bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza

The Freedom Flotilla, a maritime expedition with more than five thousand tons of food and medicine for the Palestinian population in Gaza, was prevented by authorities from Germany and the United States from leaving Turkey this Wednesday (24/04).

According to one of the activists on board, Brazilian internationalist Thiago Ávila, the initiative that aims to break the Israeli siege on the Palestinian enclave faces several problems, which delayed the departure of the three vessels until next Friday (04/26).

“The meeting with the president of Türkiye [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] it wasn’t good. There are very strong external pressures. While we are preparing humanitarian aid and doing our training, the President of Germany [Frank-Walter Steinmeier] is here with the first demand for the Turkish government not to allow the Flotilla to leave”, denounced Ávila.

According to the internationalist, an advisor from the State Department of the United States’ counterterrorism session is also present at the meetings, “putting pressure on the Turkish government so that we don’t leave”.

The impositions required the Freedom Flotilla to fill out new forms and look for a new port in Istanbul to set sail. According to the organizers of the action, “all technical and crew requirements” were completed to launch the boats on Friday towards Gaza.

The Freedom Flotilla has carried out similar initiatives since 2010, when an expedition was attacked by Israel, in which 10 members of the non-violent action were killed.

After the offensive, Israel also seized the boats and humanitarian aid, in addition to arresting the activists, taking them to Tel Aviv where they were detained until they were deported to their countries of origin.

Amid Israeli attacks and Western blockades, the Freedom Flotilla is trying to combat the imminent famine in Gaza, warned by the United Nations (UN) in March, so that 70% of the local population already suffers from food insecurity.

Thiago Ávila even denounced “the inaction of governments and international organizations to combat genocide” in Palestine even before the Flotilla was blocked by external pressure.

“What these more than a thousand people are doing, putting their lives at risk, was the role of governments and international multilateral organizations. But, if governments don’t do it, ordinary people will have to stop the genocide against the Palestinian people through their own means”, said the Brazilian.

The Israeli siege and famine in Palestine

Despite Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declaring in October 2023 a total siege on Gaza, so that Palestinians would be left without water, food, medicine or electricity as collective punishment following the Hamas attacks on October 7, the Israeli occupation goes back a long way.

“We are facing human animals and we will act accordingly,” said the minister when he completely closed crossings for humanitarian aid from Israel, in addition to the sea and air siege and the control it holds over the Rafah border, which separates Egypt from the south of Gaza.

Israel has kept Gaza under military occupation since 1967 and under total siege since 2007, so that any child or teenager between the ages of 0 and 17, the age group of the majority of the population of the Gaza Strip. Thus, more than half of Palestinians were born under Israeli siege.

Restrictions imposed by Israel even before October 2023 prevented the entry of essential items such as medical equipment, food, school materials and even miscellaneous items such as wedding dresses, chocolates and diving goggles.

Before the intensification of the siege, 500 trucks entered Gaza daily with humanitarian aid and there was already food insecurity. After October 7, Israel restricted entry to 200 trucks per day.

Thus, the Freedom Flotilla understands the urgency of its initiative, but recognizes the insufficiency of the action. Behind five thousand tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza, the group wants to end Israel’s blockade against Palestine, considered “illegal and deadly” by the coalition.

“Allowing Israel to control what and how much humanitarian aid can reach Palestinians in Gaza is like letting the fox guard the henhouse. And yet, this is what the international community of states is allowing, by refusing to sanction Israel and challenge its genocidal policies”, says the organization’s statement.