The humanitarian Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) of volunteer-crewed vessels sailing to deliver baby food and other essentials to Gaza, which is under Israel’s criminal starvation blockade, has accused the Italian government of using the navy frigate it sent to ‘protect’ (not really) the flotilla of “attempting to undermine” the flotilla’s mission and ‘dressing cowardice up as diplomacy’.

Humanitarian flotilla hits back at Italy

In a statement, the flotilla said:

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed us that the naval frigate shadowing our flotilla will soon issue a radio call, offering participants the “opportunity” to abandon ship and return to shore before reaching the so-called “critical zone.” Let us be absolutely clear: this is not protection. It is sabotage. It is an attempt to demoralize and fracture a peaceful humanitarian mission that governments have failed to take on themselves, even though it is their silence and complicity that led to this point.

This is cowardice dressed up as diplomacy. If Italy truly sought to protect lives, it would not be acting as Israel’s enabler, nor would it pressure civilians to retreat. It would use its naval fleet to ensure the safe passage of peaceful volunteers to Gaza, to enforce international law, and to deliver life-saving supplies. Anything less is complicity.

Every single participant on board came with full knowledge of the risks. We are not here under any false illusion. We are here because it is far more dangerous to remain silent in the face of genocide, starvation, and collective punishment than it is to sail carrying humanitarian aid. The Italian government knows this, and yet instead of using its considerable naval power to break an illegal siege, it is choosing to escort us only to the point of danger and then try to peel us away, delivering us back to shore empty-handed, as Israel continues to slaughter and starve the Palestinian people with complete impunity.

We say again: the flotilla sails onward. The Italian navy will not derail this mission. The humanitarian demand to break the blockade cannot be walked back to port, and our moral responsibility cannot be abandoned overboard. Every nautical mile we sail, every threat we face, only underscores what governments have failed to do and what ordinary citizens are now compelled to do.

Israel’s blockade is illegal. Its siege is criminal. And the world’s silence is intolerable. If the Italian government wants to be remembered for courage, it must sail with us.

Further to this, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni has now said the flotilla should ‘stop its mission’.

Aggravating Israel could upset the current “fragile balance” and undermine Donald Trump’s “peace plan” (which is nothing of the sort), she said:

Many would be happy to disrupt [that plan]… I fear that the flotilla’s attempt to breach the Israeli naval blockade could provide a pretext for this. Also for this reason, I believe the Flotilla should stop now.

And this is why you should never trust the far right.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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