Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 21.05.2026
As this Article is written the captives from the Global Sumud Flotilla are in court in Ashdod. while the real criminals are those who kidnap them and the Israeli government that ordered the crime of piracy and kidnap in addition to war crimes. I just spoke with the relative of an Israeli woman captive that is in court.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (or Steadfastness Flotilla) set sail from Turkey to deliver aid to the starving Gazans with participants accusing Israel of violating international law by detaining them in international waters 300 hundreds km away from Israel. Israel typically to these war criminals has dismissed the flotilla as a “PR stunt at the service of Hamas”.
According to International law dealing with piracy (UNCLOS)
”Piracy consists of any of the following acts
(a) any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed
(i) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft
(ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State
(b) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft
(c) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in subparagraph (a) or (b).”
UNCLOS provides that all States have an obligation to cooperate to the fullest possible extent in the repression of piracy (art. 100) and have universal jurisdiction on the high seas to seize pirate ships and aircraft, or a ship or aircraft taken by piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest the persons and seize the property on board (art. 105). Article 110, inter alia, also allows States to exercise a right of visit vis-à-vis ships suspected of being engaged in piracy.
The Israeli Solidarity Committee, whose activists are in ongoing contact with the flotilla activists that were on their way to the Gaza Strip, but were kidnaped by the Zionist monster, are trying to get in touch with them in Ashdod where the kidnaped are detained. Adalah, a human rights legal organization, saw the hundreds detained activists.
The Israeli Solidarity Committee has warned that Israel false framing of the flotilla as a “Turkish flotilla,” when in fact the flotilla originally departed from Barcelona and most of its participants are European peace activists who are deeply concerned for the fate of the Gaza Strip residents living in tents and enduring severe, ongoing suffering.
By its behavior, the Israeli government is practically helping the flotillas demonstrate to the world that it acts like a piratical terrorist organization.
Says that: The Israeli Solidarity Committee
“Israel is trying to pump up “violence” once again. So, to set the record straight: the flotilla is a non-violent action by citizens who care and who are trying to stop the final solution that Israel is inflicting upon the Palestinian people through a variety of methods”
The criminal Zionist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived at the port after the hijacking of the activists and the takeover of some of the ships belonging to the flotilla, he held the Israeli flag over the flotilla activists who remained handcuffed and sprawled on the ground and said in his disgusting voice: “Netanyahu – give them to me for a long time, give them to the terrorists’ prisons, this is how it should look.”
The media coverage of the humiliation campaign made headlines in well-known newspapers around the world, as Ben Gvir’s face is Israel’s real face.
Many countries, some of them sympathetic to Israel, were also forced to condemn Israel.
“Meloni and Tiani: Unacceptable behavior. We demand an apology!” read the headline of La Repubblica. The second article on the website reads that “the minister mocks the kneeling demonstrators and says: ‘We are the masters here.’ Ben-Gvir’s pictures with the Israeli flag appear in both articles. “La Repubblica”: “Unacceptable behavior. We demand an apology!”
The headline of the popular website in the Italian Corrierereads: “From the flotilla, activists are kneeling, handcuffed and blindfolded. Ben-Gvir mocks them: ‘Welcome to Israel.’ Meloni and Tiani: Unacceptable. The ambassador was summoned for a conversation at the Foreign Ministry.” Accompanied by pictures of Ben Gvir with an Israeli flag and pictures of the flotilla participants kneeling.
Dozens of Italian citizens are participating in the flotilla. The Italian government, which receives a lot of criticism for its support of Israel in the institutions of the European Union. worked secretly with the Zionist Foreign Ministry so as not to create negative headlines that would put additional pressure on the government. Now, Ben-Gvir’s response has caused not only the summoning of the Israeli ambassador for a conversation and harsh criticism of Israel, but also a significant incident between the two countries. It’s not just Italy that has condemned Israel.
Israel has faced widespread international condemnation following the publication of videos by the Zionist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showing him taunting and overseeing the humiliation of detained activists from the “Global Sumud Flotilla”.Ben-Gvir posted footage on social media showing himself walking among kneeling, hand-tied activists at Ashdod Port, waving an Israeli flag, playing the Zionist national anthem over loudspeakers, and stating “Welcome to Israel”. The video also showed a female activist being forced to the ground by officers after shouting “Free Palestine”.
France & Belgium: Summoned Israeli ambassadors to protest the “unacceptable actions”.
Canada: Unequivocally condemned the treatment, summoning the Israeli ambassador.
Turkey: Denounced the “violent and barbaric mentality” of the government.
EU & Ireland: Criticized the treatment, with Ireland’s Foreign Minister stating she was “appalled and shocked”.
US: Ambassador Mike Huckabee denounced the actions as “despicable”.
In Israel Netanyahu and Saar the FM hypocritically tried to belittle the damage. Netanyahu rebuked the far-right minister, stating his conduct was “not in line with Israel’s values and norms”.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Ben-Gvir of causing “harm to our State” and declared, “you are not the face of Israel”.
The small problem that the war criminals have is that this is the face of Israel that kill destroy and occupies more Arab lands. A state that in 1948 expelled 750,000-900,000 Palestinians. committed 40 massacres in the lands occupied in 1948 and has continued its war crimes nonstop since then.
Adalah reported that many of the kidnaped suffered extreme violence, sexual humiliation and serious injuries at the hands of Israeli forces. According to the organization’s announcement, its legal team met with hundreds of participants in the flotilla at the port of Ashdod and collected testimonies from them. The statement said that at least three required hospitalization due to injuries caused by the violence, and dozens of participants were documented with suspected rib fractures and difficulty breathing as a result.
Adalah also said that in addition to the violence used against the activists during the seizure of their boats and during the transfer to the port, they were forced to walk bent down and sit on their knees for long periods of time. In addition, the organization said that participants also reported frequent use of Taser guns, as well as injuries caused by rubber bullet fire during the takeover of the flotilla boats. It was also reported that some of the women participating were torn off by the forces that they were wearing.
In an internal message sent to his officers, Israel Prison Service spokesman Zivan Freidin called the participants and activists “the terrorists of the flotilla”.
Ben-Gvir defended his actions, stating on X (formerly Twitter) that he was “proud” of the actions taken against those he called “supporters of terror”.
We just wonder how proud he will be when he and his co-criminals will face a trial by victims of their terror.