Desk Report:
Global Sumud volunteers detained in Israel on hunger strike
The Global Peace Flotilla expeditioners detained in Israel have begun an indefinite hunger strike. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) Committee announced this in a statement on Friday.
The expeditioners of the mission have begun an indefinite hunger strike to protest the detention of the ships of the Global Peace Flotilla mission and the crew and explorers by the Israeli Navy, the statement said.
The 43 ships belonging to the ‘Global Peace Flotilla’ mission set sail from the port of Spain towards the Gaza coast on August 31 with food and medicine for the residents of the war-torn Gaza Strip in Palestine. The mission included 500 citizens from 44 countries, including Swedish citizen and international environmental activist Greta Thunberg, South African anti-apartheid leader and politician Mandela Mandela, grandson of former President Nelson Mandela. Some of these citizens are parliamentarians, some lawyers, some political activists and some volunteers.
But as soon as they approached Gaza’s waters, the Israeli navy seized all but one of the boats. The boats, crew and passengers were taken to an Israeli port.
The Israeli navy initially seized 13 boats last Wednesday night; but even then the remaining 30 boats were still moving towards Gaza. The Israeli navy seized 29 boats one by one from Thursday morning until night. The last boat was seized this Friday morning.
The FFC statement said that they decided to go on hunger strike on the day the expeditioners began to be detained on Wednesday.
