Latest news with #French-Palestinian
Middle East Eye
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Aid ship bound for Gaza sabotaged in Italy before setting sail
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says its vessel Handala, heading to Gaza with humanitarian aid, was sabotaged before it could leave the Italian port of Gallipoli. According to the group, a rope had been tightly wound around the ship's propeller and a corrosive substance was poured into the water tank, injuring two crew members. Despite the sabotage, Handala has now set sail towards Gaza, carrying a group of international activists and essential supplies including baby formula, medication, and toys. The journey is expected to last about a week. The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza condemned the incident and urged global powers to ensure the vessel's protection, warning against potential acts of 'Israeli piracy'. This mission comes six weeks after the Madleen made a similar journey, with high-profile figures including activist Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan on board.
The National
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Rest of Madleen crew released after being detained by Israel
The Madleen ship, co-ordinated by humanitarian group Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), set sail for Gaza on June 1 in an attempt to break Israel's blockade on the enclave and deliver much needed aid. On June 9, the vessel was intercepted by Israeli forces while sailing in international waters. The 12 volunteers on board - which included Swedish climate and social justice campaigner Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan - were detained and taken to Israel, where they were asked to sign deportation consent forms. READ MORE: At least 34 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers near aid site While four people, including Thunberg, signed the forms and were subsequently deported, the remaining eight were detained in prison while waiting to appear before an Israeli tribunal. Five more activists were deported by Israel on Thursday, but the remaining three had their deportation flights "abruptly cancelled" following the country's attack on Iran, which closed Israeli airports and grounded flights. However, it has now been confirmed that the last three detained volunteers - Marco van Rennes (Netherlands), Pascal Maurieras (France) and Yanis Mhamdi (France) - were released from Israeli detention on Monday morning and have begun their return to their home countries via the Jordanian border. Their respective embassies are now expected to facilitate their return home from Jordan. In a statement on Monday afternoon, the FFC said: "This mission took place as Palestinians in Gaza face the most devastating campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide in recent history. Israel's nearly two-decade-long blockade of Gaza has been repeatedly found to violate international law, including in the 2009 United Nations Fact-Finding Mission Report and numerous legal analyses since. "In 2024, the International Court of Justice found it plausible that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and issued binding provisional measures to prevent such acts. Despite this, Israel's deadly blockade continues with full backing from the US, EU, and other complicit governments. READ MORE: BBC coverage of Israel's war on Gaza shows 'pattern of bias', new report finds "The Madleen mission is part of a 17-year-long civil society effort to confront, challenge, and break Israel's illegal blockade on Gaza. Based on precedent, we knew the risks – including attack, injury, and even death – were high. But we believe the cost of inaction is greater. "Our goal is to break the siege – not symbolically, but materially and politically – which requires mobilizing not just civil society, but governments as well. "In that sense, this mission has succeeded in reigniting global awareness, hope, and imagination in the power of people-to-people solidarity and direct action. We're not stopping – and we invite the world to join us." The statement continued: "Our mission sought to break through media fatigue and remind the world: Gaza remains under illegal blockade. International silence is not neutrality – it is complicity. "Palestinians have the right to live with dignity, freedom, and justice, and to receive aid – everything they need – without the control of their illegal Occupying Power." READ MORE: UK must not look away from Gaza genocide amid Iran-Israel war - Amnesty The FFC said it welcomed "the people's solidarity with our mission" and "above all, with the starved and besieged Palestinian people of Gaza". The group added: "We ask you to keep mobilizing, watch for announcements of our next action against the blockade, and let your solidarity sail. "We will continue sailing until the blockade is broken, the genocide ends, and Palestine is free – from the river to the sea."
Middle East Eye
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Thousands join pro-Palestine protests in France
Thousands of demonstrators protested across France on Saturday in support of Palestinians and calling for peace in Gaza. French trade unions, left-wing parties and pro-Palestinian activist groups called for a global weekend of protests against Israel's war on the territory. They issued their rallying call before Israel on Friday launched a massive wave of strikes on Iran, raising fears of a prolonged conflict that experts say could engulf the region. In Paris, where the largest march took place, police counted 9,000 demonstrators, while the CGT trade union and hard-left party France Unbowed (LFI) said 150,000 attended the gathering. French-Palestinian lawyer and member of European Parliament for La France Insoumise (LFI) party Rima Hassan and member of the Gaza-bound aid boat Reva Viard (L) take part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration called by several French unions at the Place de la République in Paris on 14 June, 2025. (AFP)
The National
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Israel cancels deportation of Madleen crew after Iran attack
Adalah, the civil rights organisation representing the activists, said Marco van Rennes (Netherlands), Pascal Maurieras (France) and Yanis Mhamdi (France) remain in custody at Givon Prison after the scheduled deportation flights were cancelled. Israel's airspace has been closed and all commercial flights grounded after Benjamin Netanyahu's government attacked multiple sites in Iran, in strikes which have raised the potential for an all-out war. Israel said it had targeted the country's nuclear programme, killing several commanders, including the leader of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami. READ MORE: Tributes pour in as Scotland's first black professor, Sir Geoff Palmer, dies aged 85 Israeli leaders said the attack was necessary to head off what they described as an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs and they warned of a reprisal which could target civilians in Israel. On Thursday, Israel deported Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European parliament, Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, Turkish activist Suayb Ordu, French activist Reva Viard and German activist Yasemin Acar. Adalah said at the time that the remaining crew members would be deported by Israel on Friday. It was previously understood that van Rennes would also be deported on Thursday, but he remains in Israel. It comes after four other activists, including Swedish climate and social justice campaigner Greta Thunberg, French physician Baptiste Andre, Spanish activist Sergio Toribio and French Al-Jazeera journalist Omar Faiad, were deported on Tuesday. The Madleen, co-ordinated by humanitarian organisation Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), set sail for Gaza on June 1 with the aim of delivering much needed aid and breaking Israel's naval blockade. However, Israeli forces intercepted the Madleen while it was in international waters early on Monday morning, seizing the ship and detaining the 12 activists on board. The FFC said in a statement on Friday that the three activists who remain in Israel "may face an extra month" in prison. Adalah added that lawyers are working to arrange visits to the three volunteers who remain in Israel, however it is still unclear whether access will be granted. READ MORE: Israel 'already planning even more brutal' attacks on Iran, Donald Trump claims One of the crew members still detained, Mhamdi, is a journalist working for French independent media outlet Blast. In a statement published on Friday morning – translated from French – the outlet said: "We were hoping for an imminent return of our journalist, imprisoned in Israel since the boarding of the Madleen and the arrest of its crew. It has failed. "Due to the current escalation between Israel and Iran, Israeli authorities have closed the airspace, and the deportation flights scheduled for today have been abruptly cancelled. "Yanis Mhamdi and the last two volunteers, Dutchman Marco van Rennes and Frenchman Pascal Maurieras, remain imprisoned in Givon prison. "Only firm and determined intervention by French diplomacy could resolve the situation and help our lawyers on the ground secure the speedy repatriation of the three detainees."
Saudi Gazette
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Six Gaza aid boat activists deported from Israel after three days in detention
JERUSALEM — Six activists who were detained by Israel after their boat was intercepted on its way to try to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza have been deported, the Israeli foreign ministry has confirmed. Earlier, Israeli human rights group Adalah said they were being transferred to Ben Gurion Airport "after more than 72 hours in Israeli custody following the unlawful interception of the Madleen Freedom Flotilla in international waters". Adalah, which provided legal advice to the activists, said two others who were on board remained in Israeli custody as they awaited deportation on Friday. Among those who left on Thursday was Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament. In a post on X, the Israeli foreign ministry said: "Six more passengers from the 'selfie yacht,' including Rima Hassan, are on their way out of Israel. "Bye-bye-and don't forget to take a selfie before you leave," it added. The post also showed pictures of the activists getting onto and then sitting on a plane. A post on Hassan's X account said she had left prison and was inviting people to meet in Paris' Place de la République at 21:00 (20:00 BST). The other five activists being deported are Mark van Rennes from the Netherlands, Suayb Ordu from Turkey, Yasemin Acar from Germany, Thiago Avila from Brazil, and Reva Viard from France, Adalah said. The rights organisation said the two other people yet to be deported were Pascal Maurieras and journalist Yanis Mhamdi, both French nationals. It said they were still in custody in Givon prison and were expected to be deported on Friday afternoon. In a statement issued before the six were deported, Adalah said: "While in custody, volunteers were subjected to mistreatment, punitive measures, and aggressive treatment, and two volunteers were held for some period of time in solitary confinement." It added: "Adalah calls for the immediate release of all eight volunteers and for their safe passage to their home countries. Their continued detention and forced deportation are unlawful and a part of Israel's ongoing violations of international law." The Israeli foreign ministry previously said those who refused to sign deportation documents would face judicial proceedings to have them deported, in accordance with Israeli law. Map showing journey of the Madleen yacht from Catania in Italy to where it was intercepted off the coast of Gaza A group of 12 people had been sailing on the yacht Madleen when it was intercepted by Israeli authorities on Monday, about 185km (115 miles) west of Gaza. The expedition, organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), had been aiming to deliver a "symbolic" amount of aid to Gaza in defiance of Israel's blockade and to highlight the humanitarian crisis there. At the time, the Israeli foreign ministry dismissed it as a "selfie yacht" carrying "less than a single truckload of aid". Following the activists' detention, four, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and two French nationals, agreed to be deported immediately. Upon her arrival in France, Thunberg accused Israeli authorities of kidnapping her and other activists on the boat while they were in international waters. Israel's foreign ministry said unauthorised attempts to breach its blockade of Gaza were "dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts". It added that the aid transported on the FFC boat, which included baby formula and medicine, would be transferred to Gaza "through real humanitarian channels". Elsewhere, activists planning to join a pro-Palestinian march from Egypt to the southern Gaza border were stopped at Cairo airport on Thursday, an organizing group said. The Global March to Gaza said about 170 people were facing "delays and deportations" at the airport. "Our legal services are working on these cases, as we have all complied with all the legal requirements of the Egyptian authorities," it said. Egypt's interior ministry has not commented on the arrests. Its foreign ministry issued a statement on Wednesday saying prior approval by state bodies was required to travel to the Gaza border area. The march aims to begin from El Arish in northern Egypt on Friday with the aim of arriving at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border with Gaza by Sunday, Global March to Gaza said. The aim is to challenge Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid. About 1,500 pro-Palestinian protesters have also traveled in a multi-vehicle convoy from Tunisia through to Libya, and were also aiming to enter Egypt to travel onto the Gaza border. Israel and Egypt have managed a blockade of Gaza since 2007, when Hamas seized control of the territory by ousting its rivals, a year after winning legislative elections. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has called on Egypt to prevent what he called "the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border". Israel stopped all deliveries of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies to Gaza on 2 March and resumed its military offensive two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It said the steps were meant to put pressure on the group to release the hostages still held in Gaza, but the UN warned that Gaza's 2.1 million population were facing catastrophic levels of hunger because of the resulting shortages of food. Three weeks ago, Israel launched an expanded offensive to take control of all areas of Gaza. It also partially eased the blockade, allowing in a "basic" amount of food. Israel is now prioritizing distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which it backs along with the US. The UN and other aid groups are refusing to cooperate with the new system, saying it contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence. It has been 20 months since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 55,207 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. — BBC
