UN rapporteur voices support for Gaza flotilla, calls activists ‘moral warriors’

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, has expressed support for the flotilla that departed from Barcelona towards Gaza on Sunday to break Israel’s illegal siege of the Palestinian territory.

Albanese, in a social media post, said that activists who embarked on this journey were "moral warriors."

She also denounced the silence of the international community against the Israeli genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.

“Forza Sumud Flotilla: you are moral warriors, where states remain inactive. And complicit,” she wrote on X. “I am with you, and with all those standing for justice, human rights, and dignity. We build peace with peace, not weapons. Gaza is not alone.”

A fleet of boats departed from Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday for Gaza as part of an international maritime initiative aimed at delivering humanitarian aid to starving people in the blockaded Palestinian territory. 

In support, thousands of people turned up to show solidarity with Gaza and support the members who will embark on this journey.

Earlier, activists who are joining the flotilla addressed a press conference. “The story here is about Palestine. The story here is how people are being deliberately deprived of the very basic means to survive,” Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg said, addressing the media in Barcelona.

“Israel [is] very clear about their genocidal intent. They want to erase the Palestinian nation. They want to take over the Gaza Strip,” said Thunberg, hitting out at politicians and governments “failing to uphold international law.”

“They are failing to do their most basic, legal duties to act, to prevent a genocide, to stop their complicity and support for … the occupation and the genocide of Palestinians,” she noted.

Saif Abukeshek, a Palestinian activist based in Barcelona, denounced Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza. “Palestinians are being starved to death because there is a government that is intentionally starving those people to death,” he said.

“There is a government that is intentionally bombing Palestinian kids and families every day for the purpose of killing as many Palestinians as possible,” Abukeshek added. “When you bomb hospitals, when you bomb schools, when you bomb educational centers, your main aim is basically to … end the presence of the Palestinian population.”

Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla sets sail from Barcelona

The Global Sumud Flotilla has started to sail from the Spanish port of Barcelona to the Gaza Strip in Palestine.

The flotilla, made up of delegations from 44 countries, will be joined by more ships from ports in Italy, Greece, and Tunisia in the coming days, on its route from the western end of the Mediterranean to the Gaza Strip, according to organizers.

The Flotilla will try to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory and bring humanitarian aid, food, water, and medicine to Gaza as Israel steps up its offensive in Gaza City.

Israeli authorities have previously intercepted similar attempts to break the siege. Participants often have been arrested, taken to the occupied territories, and deported.

Freedom flotillas have repeatedly tried to reach Gaza over the past 15 years. In 2010, Israeli forces boarded a Freedom Flotilla including the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, killing ten activists.

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