Transferred activist Tiago Ávila from flotilla to stricter penal institution by Israel
** Here's a fresh take on the situation:**
3 mins. Israeli authorities haven't been shy about threatening to lock up members of the Freedom Flotilla that reject being shipped back to their home countries. Recently, French MEP Rima Hassan and climate activist Tiago Ávila have been slapped with harsher prison conditions.
Adalah, a Palestinian legal group representing the activists, has cried foul, claiming that Hassan was subjected to inhumane conditions—bedbug infestations and non-potable water—during her transfer to Neve Tirza prison.
The drama unfolded after Hassan had scribbled "Free Palestine" in the Givon prison when she first arrived following her port call in Ashdod. The other eight activants, who refused to budge from Israel, are still locked up and awaiting forced deportation.
Ávila joined the chorus, embarking on a hunger and thirst strike in Givon prison, leading to his transfer to Ayalon prison near Tel Aviv.
On Monday, the crew of the Madleen ship tried to unload humanitarian aid in Gaza but was intercepted by Israeli forces. Gazans typically access food only through limited distribution points managed by the private group GHF, with Israel's blessing. Yet, daily reports of persons dying while trying to secure food persist. On Wednesday alone, at least 57 souls perished this way.
"The law is a joke"
The eight holdouts in Israel might be stuck there for up to a month, as per their legal team's updates.The court has scheduled a custody review for July 8, in case deportation doesn't occur prematurely. Adalah brands this detention as an "arbitrary and unlawful" move that contravenes international law.
The group insists that the Israeli law used to detain the activists is jurisdictionally irrelevant, since they didn't attempt to enter Israeli territory nor did they plan to sail in its waters. Instead, their route was from Sicily to international waters, subsequently heading to Gaza's recognized territorial waters.
Legal eagles have petitioned that Israeli authorities violated the volunteers' will and rights under international law by intercepting and confiscating the ship. Moreover, the interception allegedly took place in international waters, although the Israeli government denies commenting on this matter.
The Ramla Eight
Out of the 12 activists targeting Gaza, eight are currently detained in Israel: Suayb Ordu from Turkey, Mark van Rennes from the Netherlands, Pascal Maurieras, Reva Viard, Yanis Mhamdi, and Rima Hassan from France, Thiago Ávila from Brazil, and Yasemin Acar from Germany.
The remaining four chose voluntary deportation, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, Spanish activist Sergio Toribio, French journalist Omar Faiad, and activist Baptiste André.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to strangle the little humanitarian aid that manages to squeeze into Gaza, turning food distribution moments into ticking time-bombs of Gazan fatalities. Often, these deaths are at the hands of Israeli soldiers, while at other times it's militias linked to ISIS, rumored to be financed by Netanyahu.
In response to the Israeli authorities' actions, Adalah, a Palestinian legal group, labeled the detention of the Freedom Flotilla activists as "arbitrary and unlawful," citing it as a violation of international law. The group claims that the Israeli law used to detain the activists is jurisdictionally irrelevant, as the activists did not attempt to enter Israeli territory or sail in its waters.
The ongoing situation in Gaza, where food distribution moments are turning into ticking time-bombs of Gazan fatalities, is also a matter of general news, war-and-conflicts, crime-and-justice, and politics, as daily reports of persons dying while trying to secure food persist. This highlights the need for humanitarian aid and raises questions about the distribution processes and those responsible for the continued suffering in Gaza.
