Global Sumud Flotilla Set to Break Israel Blockade of Gaza

Thousands of people gathered in Barcelona on Sunday, August 31, to launch the first vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, the largest attempt yet to break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza by sea. Around 50 boats, carrying civilian crews and humanitarian supplies for the people of Palestine, are expected to depart in the first week of September from ports in the Mediterranean.

Among those present at the flotilla’s launch were well-known figures such as actor Liam Cunningham and activist Greta Thunberg; but the majority of the crews are seafarers, trade unionists, nurses, journalists, and ordinary people who have decided to act where their governments have failed. For 23 months of genocide, Western governments have remained complicit in Israeli war crimes despite overwhelming grassroots support for Palestine.

On the same day as the flotilla’s launch, Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir presented a plan to the Israeli cabinet on how to “stop” the massive convoy. One element of the plan is to designate the flotilla’s civilian crew as terrorists, paving the way for their detention in high-security prisons. According to Israeli media, Ben-Gvir said that “after spending weeks in detention under harsh conditions, supporters of terror would think twice before attempting another such flotilla.”

His statement got a swift response. The Italian union Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), whose dockworker José Nivoi is among those traveling with the flotilla, rejected the threats. “The Israeli minister’s threats to the activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla are a serious attempt at intimidation and proof of the criminal nature of the Israeli government,” USB wrote. “To him, we say: your words won’t stop us, they only push us to intensify our efforts.”

USB members warned that if Israeli forces threaten or block the ships, as they have done with the Freedom Flotilla’s Madleen and Handala, they would spark a wave of blockades of supplies directed to Israel, building on previous dockworkers’ refusals to load military cargo. “Workers can play a decisive role in influencing events and acting as spokespeople for the widespread support this courageous initiative [the Global Sumud Flotilla] enjoys,” USB said. “By blocking ships and planes carrying weapons to war zones, they have earned a fundamental role and every right to challenge rearmament policies and their consequences on our lives.”

Left and progressive forces continue support for Sumud Flotilla

Support for the flotilla and its crew has also come from Italian left party Potere al Popolo. Spokesperson Marta Collot praised the dockworkers, writing on social media: “The courage of the dockworkers who first block the weapons and then take the front line in helping the Palestinian people is an example to us all. It shows what solidarity between peoples means against those who want us to remain silent and suffer their policies of war.”

Messages of solidarity have arrived from beyond Europe as well. The International Peoples’ Assembly (IPA) stated it stood in solidarity with the Sumud Flotilla despite threats, stating: “To stand with Gaza is not a crime – it is to stand with life, dignity, and freedom! We stand with the flotillas, with the people of Gaza, and with the global struggle to break the siege.”

Similarly, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has encouraged the flotilla, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro sent a letter to the crews expressing strong support. “I have said it before, and I repeat it today: if Palestine dies, all of humanity dies with it. Therefore, every action opposing extermination, every voice that defies indifference, is an act of life,” Petro wrote.

“You have chosen the most difficult and perilous path: that of action in the face of brutal violence. And I say to you: you are not alone,” he added. “And when you reach the waters near Gaza, you will feel that traveling beside you is the voice of millions who believe that peace is not a utopia, but an obligation.”

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch