More human rights activists detained for attempting to break Israeli-Gaza blockade

Madison Ruppert, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Around 50 nautical miles off the coast, three Israeli missile ships and seven boats filled with masked commandos took over the boat called Dignite Al Karame yesterday.

The Al Karame had 10 civilians, 3 crew members, and three journalists aboard when it was raided by at least 150 soldiers, according to an Israeli journalist aboard the ship.

The activists were part of the second “freedom flotilla” that has attempted to break the illegal blockade on the people of Palestine enforced by the IDF.

The Dignite Al Karame was one of the few ships to make it even remotely close to the coast after several incidents of sabotage and even illegal, inhumane imprisonment of Americans attempting to join the flotilla.

Thankfully, the Israeli capture of the vessel did not result in injuries or casualties according to Amira Hass, the Israeli journalist aboard the boat.

Hass reports that the prisoners were treated relatively well and given fruit and water after being boarded and arrested.

Hess claims that while they were held in “suffocating cabins” they received a rudimentary medical exam that consisted of taking of pulses and asking if anyone was in pain.

After roughly four hours, the prisoners arrived in Ashdod, Israel. The prisoners were quickly surrounded by “masses of soldiers and a few people in civilian clothes” after which they were taken to their luggage.

However, this is where the fairytale ends: Hass was then separated from the prisoners and the other 15 passengers were arrested and not allowed to consult lawyers.

Hass remarks that as an Israeli journalist she was taken aside by authorities, had her passport stamped, and was then released.

The report then ends and no details are given on where the other 15 activists are being held, under what conditions, and if they will ever be allowed to see their lawyers.

Other reports are conspicuously unclear about what occurred after the activists were detained. One Israeli news source mentions only that the individuals were taken without resistance by IDF forces to Ashdod Port. There is no mention of the fact that they are being held without being allowed the essential right to a lawyer.

This interception marks the end of the failed second attempt at breaking the illegal blockade and collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

According to VOA News, 11 other ships and a total of 300 human rights activists from around the globe were blocked from leaving Greek ports.

Unfortunately, this means that the Israeli war crimes against the people of Gaza are going to continue and that the international community does not have the power or fortitude to challenge the Anglo-American and Israeli hegemonic power in the Middle East.

Israel continues to claim that the collective punishment of Palestinians, which is explicitly forbidden under international humanitarian law as I have previously explained, is necessary to prevent arms from being smuggled to terrorists in Gaza.

I am very interested to know what conditions the other detainees are being held in, and if they are still being denied access to legal counsel.

The fact that Hass and the Western mainstream media outlets have ignored this completely is quite telling. If history is any indication, we can assume that the report published by the Israeli journalist was whitewashed and that the remaining prisoners are not being imprisoned under humane conditions.

A video of the ship being boarded by the Israeli Navy can be seen here:

The international community needs to be investigating the remaining detainees’ conditions and their access to lawyers. Without doing this, we can safely assume they will be treated horribly, just like the American captain’s inhumane and illegal treatment by Greek authorities.

When an international community is happy to refer to peace activists campaigning on behalf of Palestinians as terrorists, this same community will more easily be able to justify the mistreatment of these activists.

In reality these individuals currently being held under mysterious conditions by Israeli military are no different than any other peace-loving human being on Earth. When we are drawn away from this, we are easily tricked into believing that inhumane treatment is justifiable.

Moral relativism is dangerous, especially when one side is able to demonize the other and portray them as subhuman. These same tactics have been used by every genocidal maniac throughout history. When you start hearing this rhetoric, you should begin to question the motives behind it and independently analyze the facts.

If you do so, I find it hard to believe that you could actually walk away thinking that those involved in the freedom flotilla are attempting to materially support terrorism.

Even if you can come to this conclusion, can you justify suspects being held without access to legal defense or independent parties?

This most recent move by Israel must be addressed and those who can still speak out must do so as much as possible. Without holding these war criminals to account we essentially allow these events to take place again.

In summary, we do not know what the actual conditions are of those being held by the Israeli Navy in Ashdod.  If you support human rights for all you must demand we know what is really going on there. This does not mean only reports from IDF personnel attesting to the conditions, or any Israelis for that matter. There must be a completely independent and rigorous investigation, or else we can bet that these poor souls will be taken advantage of.

When military forces are not held to account for their actions, as Israeli forces far too often are, far too much leeway is afforded.

Fighting for transparency in the treatment of Israeli detainees is the same as fighting for transparency of all government prisoners. It is a necessary and crucial battle, especially after what we know of the horrors of Guantanamo.

Stand up and demand that all prisoners be held under humane conditions with access to impartial legal advice and a fair, hasty trial, or else you could be held under the same deplorable circumstances. Even if I do not agree with someone’s point of view, I will never deny them the right to be treated exactly the same as I would want to be treated.

The cancer of moral relativism that allows this kind of logic to pass is ultimately untenable. Eventually the situation will come around and those who were supporting the inhumane treatment of a certain group of people just might end up on the wrong end of the stick eventually. Therefore, I refuse to justify a single thing that I would not endure myself.