In a joint statement published on Monday, 9 June, the chairs of the European Parliament’s left-wing political groups—Manon Aubry (The Left, French), Martin Schirdewan (The Left, German), Iratxe García (S&D, Spanish), Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, Dutch), and Terry Reintke (Greens/EFA, German)—called for the release of the crew of the Madleen, a ship from the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ (an NGO) that was transporting humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip but that was intercepted in international waters and diverted to the port of Ashdod by the Israeli army.
“We call for all these citizens to be released. While we recognize that humanitarian aid must be delivered through secure and coordinated channels, the desperation behind this civil initiative shows the failure of the international community, including of the European Union, to ensure safe, sustained, and sufficient access to life-saving aid for over two million people trapped in Gaza,” declared the leaders of these parliamentary groups.
Among the nine EU citizens intercepted, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was deported on Tuesday morning. However, French MEP and pro-Palestinian activist Rima Hassan (The Left) as well as several other European activists, who refused to be deported, remained detained in Israel as of Tuesday, 10 June, and are expected to be brought before a judge.
European Parliament Vice-President Younous Omarjee (The Left, French) described the detention as “totally illegal”.
For her part, Ms Aubry denounced the “deafening silence of political leaders in Europe and around the world” after the ship was intercepted. “Their inaction in the face of genocide is nothing but complicity. We demand European authorities take immediate action to guarantee the crew’s safety and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza”, she declared.
President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola indicated, through a spokesperson, that she was in “constant contact” with the Israeli authorities to ensure Rima Hassan’s safety. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)