‘Piracy’: World reacts to Israel’s seizure of Gaza-bound aid vessel Madleen

Israel has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship, preventing the 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, from reaching the blockaded Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military “forcibly intercepted” the vessel Madleen in international waters overnight about 100 nautical miles (185km) from Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition NGO said in a statement on Monday. Al Jazeera lost contact with the vessel at 07:00 GMT.

Apart from Thunberg, those taken into custody by Israel are Palestinian French Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan; Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi and Reva Viard from France; Thiago Avila from Brazil; Suayb Ordu from Turkiye; Sergio Toribio from Spain; Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands; Yasemin Acar from Germany; and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.

Israel has detained the crew for “interrogation”.

Here’s how the world has reacted:

Palestine

The interception of the Madleen is a “flagrant violation of international law”, Hamas said in a statement, calling for the activists on board to be released and saying it holds Israel “fully accountable for their safety”.

“Israel has no legal authority to restrict access to Palestine since such is within the exclusive right of the Palestinian people,” said the rights organisation Al-Haq, which is based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Iran

“The assault on this flotilla, since it happened in international waters, is considered a form of piracy under international law,” said Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Turkiye

Israel’s interception of the Madleen is a “clear violation of international law” that “once again demonstrates that Israel is acting as a terror state”, Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

France

President Emmanuel Macron “has asked that our six French nationals be allowed to return to France as soon as possible,” said the Elysee Palace in a press release. “We have asked to be able to exercise our consular protection over them” and to “visit them”, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot added.

United Kingdom

Downing Street has urged Israel to resolve the interception of the Madleen aid ship “safely and with restraint”, stressing the need to adhere to international humanitarian law.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters on Monday that the UK remains deeply concerned about the crisis in Gaza. “The PM has called it appalling and intolerable,” they said.

“We’ve made it very clear we must get more aid into Gaza,” the spokesperson added, underlining the urgent need for “unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs”.

Brazil

Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Israel to release the detained crew members and “immediately lift all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Palestinian territory”.

The Republic of Ireland

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris described the Madleen as a “powerful symbol” of humanitarian solidarity, condemning Israel’s actions.

“The Madleen was an effort to get food and medicine to the starving people of Gaza; an unarmed civilian effort in the midst of devastation and catastrophic humanitarian conditions,” Harris said.

He added that the ship’s interception highlighted both the desperate state of Gaza and the international community’s failure to act, reiterating Ireland’s opposition to the Israeli blockade.

Spain

Spain has summoned Dan Poraz, charge d’affaires at the Israeli embassy in Madrid, reported the Spanish newspaper El Pais and Al Jazeera Arabic, quoting a source at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Australia

The Jewish Council of Australia has expressed “grave concerns for the activists on board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla” and called “on the Australian government to urgently intervene to secure the immediate release of the vessel and safety of the crew”.

United States

“We strongly condemn the cowardly and illegal Israeli attack on the Madleen as it approached Gaza with desperately needed humanitarian supplies,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations said. “We applaud Greta Thunberg and the other activists of the Madleen who bravely risked their safety and freedom to help the starving people of Gaza.”

European Parliament

Israel’s seizure of the Madleen “outside Israeli territorial waters” is a “blatant violation of international law”, said The Left, the European Parliament faction to which Hassan belongs. “The arrest of the crew members and the confiscation of aid intended for a population in immediate humanitarian distress is unacceptable and is clearly part of a wider strategy to starve and massacre Palestinians in Gaza while hiding Israeli war crimes from the world.”

United Nations

“Madleen must be released immediately,” United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese said. “Breaking the siege is a legal duty for states and a moral imperative for all of us. Every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity and humanity to Gaza. They shall sail together – united, they will be unstoppable.”

Amnesty International

“As the occupying power (as recognised by the ICJ [International Court of Justice]), Israel has a legal obligation to ensure civilians in Gaza have sufficient food and medicine. They should have let Madleen deliver its humanitarian supplies to Gaza,” said Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, asserting that Israel’s interception of the Madleen “violates international law”.

Environmental organisations and activists

Several environment groups and climate activists have condemned Israel’s seizure of the Madleen and the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Greenpeace said that the Madleen was “illegally seized in international waters by Israeli forces” and called for the “immediate release” of its crew. It also called for “unhindered delivery of aid” and an “end to the illegal occupation of Palestine”.

Climate Action Network, which represents climate organisations around the world, called for the immediate release of the activists and strongly condemned “Israel’s armed seizure of the Madleen on its humanitarian mission to deliver food, medicine – and hope – for Gaza’s starving population”.

Climate justice activists, including Mikaela Loach and Ayisha Siddiqa, also shared videos on social media saying, “Our friend Greta Thunberg and 11 other activists have just been kidnapped by Israel” and that “aid to Gaza was stolen”.