BE wants Israel to be condemned for intercepting a sailboat

BE's national coordinator, Mariana Mortágua, argued this Monday that the Portuguese government should condemn Israel for preventing a sailboat containing humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip.

In a post on the social network X, formerly Twitter, the sole deputy states that the sailboat of the “Freedom Flotilla” movement, which contains humanitarian aid on board, was intercepted by Israeli forces.

Mortágua stresses that “support for the people of Gaza and the safety of activists” are at stake, including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg and MEP Rima Hassan. “The Portuguese government must immediately condemn Israel’s actions,” the publication reads.

On Sunday, the Israeli government ordered its army to prevent a humanitarian aid ship en route to Gaza from reaching the devastated capital of the Palestinian enclave.

The order was given by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who warned the Swedish activist and the rest of the crew of the 'Madleen' sailboat, the Freedom Flotilla ship on its way to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, to turn back as they will not be able to reach the enclave.

“I have ordered the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] to act to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza. To the anti-Semite Greta and her friends, I say clearly: go back, because you will not reach Gaza,” Katz said in statements released by his office.

Katz added that Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Palestinian territory, which it claims is aimed at preventing Hamas from importing weapons.

The sailboat arrived on the Egyptian coast on Sunday morning and continued its journey to the Gaza Strip, campaign organizers said in a statement.

The vessel, flying the British flag and part of the Freedom Fleet coalition, left Sicily (Italy) for Gaza exactly a week ago, with the aim of “delivering humanitarian aid, breaking the Israeli blockade and giving visibility to the ongoing suffering in the Palestinian enclave”.