Israel accused the participants of Global Sumud Flotilla of their non-humanitarian mission. The Israeli authorities reported that after taking over the ships no crucial amounts of aid to the Palestinians were found on board, neither food nor medicines nor medical materials. any representatives of the Israeli authorities and Israeli and pro-Israeli influencers even argued that there was no aid.
Polish politicians besides repeat the phrase of "showing manifestation", convincing that the flotilla was no crucial support and served only the self-promotion of participants and participants. According to the Israeli fleet, it was primarily about breaking the blockade of the Gaza Strip and creating global publicity alternatively than providing real aid to the Gazans. The Jerusalem government argued that if the organizers truly were to supply support, they would do so through “legal and safe channels” of distribution, operating under the supervision of the UN and Israeli services.
At first glance, these allegations may seem reasonable. The question about the scope and amount of humanitarian aid that I asked to a individual from the Polish delegation's press squad in August (I was preparing material for Oko.press at the time) was 1 of those for which we did not get a full answer. However, this could be due to the distributed nature of the initiative and the early phase of preparation.
Flotilla organisers They powerfully reject Israel's allegations. They claim that each ship carried medical supplies, basic food products and another aid materials, and that the full mission was primarily aimed at breaking the blockade and creating a marine humanitarian corridor, which would flow continuously, as well as drawing public attention to the famine in Gaza. They stress that the fact that the aid is carried is verifiable and documented, but admits that its quantity was limited, resulting from the method capacity of tiny civilian boats.
In 2010, the first major global cruise to Gaza took place – this mission is known for the massacre that Israeli commandos carried out (ten people died, respective twelve wounded). At the time there were hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid on board, but there were respective large ships. Subsequent flotillas mostly carry aid in smaller quantities, focusing on breaking the blockade, establishing a safe maritime way and stimulating global mobilisation. In 2015, the 3rd flotilla, detained by the Israeli army, was besides discredited by the politicians there by claims of alleged deficiency of humanitarian aid. According to Israeli defence minister Mosz Jaalon, “it was not on board at all.” So this time it was known what kind of attacks could be expected.
How much aid was on Sumud's flotilla boats?
In early September, the Deutsche Welle station portal wrote, based on information obtained from mission organizers, that there were 300 tons of humanitarian aid on board. This information can besides be found in the news of the Turkish news agency Andalau. It is confirmed by any Israeli sources, unkind flotillas. akin figures were accompanied by the first announcements erstwhile it referred to 70 boats sailing within the fleet. Already in the first days it turned out that part of the boat could not proceed the cruise. On the way, as a consequence of storms, failures and drone attacks another (organisers fishy that any of them were caused by sabotage). On the last stretch, the fleet consisted of 44 units. As a consequence of the engine damage, she besides lost respective of the largest ships, including the “Family” on which Greta Thunberg sailed. This led to a crucial simplification in the amount of humanitarian aid to be carried to Gaza.
This should be made clear: up to 300 tonnes are not adequate for "serious" maritime transport, which is carried utilizing dedicated transport vessels that carry dozens and hundreds of thousands of tonnes. Most flotilla boats are tiny boats and boats with limited tonnage (volumes), burden capacity (waga) and several-manned crew. Israel’s claims as though in all retained boats only 2 tons of aid were foundBut they don't inspire trust. This would be about 50 kg per unit – little than 1% of the first declared tonnage. Meanwhile, we have photos of all the humanitarian aid on board ships.
I asked Patrycja Wieczorkiewicz, writer of Political Criticism, who was part of the Polish fleet delegation. Patricia sailed along with the others from Barcelona, but her boat crashed the another night during the storm. So she flew to Tunis, where she was to have a guaranteed place in the fleet there – after a week it turned out that she had to be importantly truncated due to not preparing the boat or their bad condition. Patrycja returned to Poland to support the others from the mainland.
Wieczorkiewicz confirms that she saw humanitarian aid on boats, and even helped to find her on a tiny sailboat, which she shared with 5 people. I don't have a full list of what was on all units. I've personally seen pads, diapers, modified milk, flour.
Even the smallest boats carry part of the goods. – Another day after leaving Barcelona, making a halt in the port after the storm forced us to turn back, my boat and any others were buying humanitarian aid, like flour, rice or cans, due to the fact that actually on these fewer smallest sailboats there was very small of it due to buoyancy. We felt that we could not give Israel specified an excuse to strike us. We all knew that he would effort to undermine the humanitarian dimension of our mission, in his propaganda he has long been boringly predictable.
Patricia emphasizes that even parts and crew baggage were abandoned for the smallest boats to accommodate additional supplies. “We decided that in specified a situation all parcel of flour counts,” he points out.
When asked about the comments that the volunteers “taken over” humanitarian aid, it bursts with laughter. Aid goods and food for the crew were to be clearly separated from the beginning. – In Tunis, where the boats from Barcelona arrived, we replenished food supplies for ourselves. I was 1 of the people liable for buying – he says, showing a image of buying carts stuffed with milk, yogurt and another products that had to be utilized for fast consumption. The product packaging shows that the photograph was actually taken in Tunisia.
In Tunis, MP Franek Sterczewski was besides to supplement the food supplies for the crew at 1 of the local markets. He posted on his profiles on social media recordings and photos from buying and loading food into boats – clearly you can see boxes with vegetables and fruits.
– We had adequate of our food to scope Gaza and a return course, which was expected for about 2 weeks," emphasised Wieczorkiewicz. – Propaganda that we had to go out to humanitarian school due to the fact that we were at sea for so long is so curiosistic that at first I didn't think anyone outside Israel would believe it. And then I saw the comments of Poles on the net and got free of the illusions. Even Jacob Worontov, a publicist who is an apologist of Israeli crimes and a fierce Zionist, has said so, but public embarrassment to duplicate specified apparent propaganda is surprising. Imagine that any media-invited writer announces with enthusiasm that Israeli hostages are having a large time in Gaza due to the fact that she saw a recording released by Hamas showing their smiling, hugging their kidnappers and ensuring that they are doing well. Everyone would rightly consider specified a individual completely detached. And specified material besides appeared.
Mathilda Mallinson, a mediate East Eye writer who sailed on the flagship boat “Family” until September 27, besides documented the transport of humanitarian aid on board. Mallinson interrupted the cruise due to abrupt engine harm (organizers fishy sabotage). Its materials confirm the presence of stocks on at least respective units: from medicines and smaller packages of food on tiny boats to full pallets on larger ones.
Depending on the kind and susceptibility to atmospheric conditions, part of the aid was carried under or on board, wrapped in tarp sheets. In Mallinson's materials, it is besides stated that each boat carried humanitarian support without exception, with any smaller boats being tiny quantities – according to recordings of respective twelve or respective 100 kilograms.
A drop in the sea, yet significant
Although the media initially talked about 300 tons, it is unclear whether this amount, despite the stockpiling, was able to be loaded onto the fleet ships. Given that the fleet consisted of only a fewer larger units, specified as ‘Alma’ or ‘Familia’, which would be able to carry from respective to respective twelve tonnes at 23 metres on 6 and respective decks (if the ship's space was adapted to cargo space). In the past, tiny sailboats, specified as “Madleen”, carried hundreds of kilograms. In reducing the fleet to about 60-70% of its first composition, it seems reasonable to presume that there were at least a 100 or respective twelve tonnes of humanitarian aid on ships of the Sumud flotilla. It should besides be noted that most of the units that were excluded in Barcelona and Tunis are tiny sailboats, which are not essential for the full mission.
This, of course, is not a peculiarly effective form of transportation of humanitarian aid, especially erstwhile compared to, for example, land transport utilizing dense goods vehicles. It must be remembered, however, that for many months it was almost entirely prevented by Israel, and the activities of the US and Israel Gaza Humanitarian Foundation resulted in bloody massacres of civilians at food distribution points.
Although the aid carried by the Sumud fleet would not change the situation in the full besieged enclave, it would surely let hundreds or even thousands of starving Palestinians to last the following days. Even 100 or 50 tonnes would represent a crucial fraction of the aid that is presently coming to Gaza. According to the data published on Reliefweb, in September it was over 14 000 tonnes, an average of about 500 tonnes per day, importantly below the amount recommended by UN agency OCHA, which identifies the aid provided as barely 26 percent of the demand. The first 300 tonnes would mean more than half of the regular tonnage released into Gaza during the fleet takeover period. However, let us remember that from March to June, aid was not allowed almost at all, leading to the starvation of hundreds of Gazans and the demolition of tens of thousands of organisms.
In the assessment of many human rights organisations, Israeli accusations and attempts to discredit the fleet are part of a wider strategy to divert attention from the illegal and immoral nature of Gaza's blockade. Amnesty global considered the interception of ships to be a violation of global law and further evidence of Israel's determination to keep restrictions that lead to a deepening of the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
Although the fleet carried limited amounts of humanitarian aid, it was of large importance to the people of Gaza. We know that in Italy alone immense quantities of aid goods to be loaded on ships were collected and transferred to the organisers. Even knowing that the chance of intercepting them is enormous, it does not seem likely that the organizers will quit or abandon the aid, risking being compromised in the event of reaching the target. Flotylla is simply a political provocation and an act of civilian disobedience – desperate – yes, showmen – absolutely, but not stupid.
It's a demonstration that moving on to the agenda over ongoing genocide It is not an option, and if governments fail, then citizens must take matters into their own hands. This is besides an additional social force that has the power to influence political decision-makers – millions of people protested in Europe itself in connection with the detention of the flotilla, and further demonstrations and further specified missions are planned. Additionally, in the process of kidnapping and imprisonment of the fleet crew Sumud media around the planet devote more attention to the conditions prevailing in Israeli camps, where Palestinians are imprisoned and tortured for years, with more than 3,000 not even charged, and at least a 100 children.
An unobvious, affirmative effect of a cruise across the Mediterranean is the anticipation he gave to fishermen in Gaza – the network features recordings showing how they fish in comparative calmness for the first time in months, as the Israeli Navy focused on taking over boats with activists.
The organizers have repeatedly reiterated that their mission is to make a sea corridor to the Gaza Strip, where 2 years of genocide and war and 18 years of naval blockade have led to famine and acute humanitarian crisis. It was precisely in order to show the importance of this way of transportation of goods that they carried with them, at least at the beginning – as the photographs, recordings, media reports and relations of members themselves indicate – at least tens of tons of humanitarian aid.
