Australian Sumud Flotilla activists return home, allege 'brutal' treatment by Israel
IDF soldiers 'attacked unarmed humanitarians' aboard Gaza-bound fleet, activists say
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Last month, the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from ports across the western Mediterranean. A convoy of more than 100 ships, the flotilla carried food, medical supplies, construction equipment and aid for civilians enduring Israel’s ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Australian environmental activist Zack Schofield was one of those on board, having sailed from Sicily last week. Shortly after leaving, Schofield agreed to file a piece for Deepcut reporting on the flotilla’s progress.
In a brief voicemail sent on Thursday morning, however, Schofield apologised for being unable to file his draft, as the fleet was being boarded by the Israeli navy.
Family members demand government speak out
Israeli rigid inflatable boats and motor vessels began circling the flotilla off the western coast of Crete — more than 600 nautical miles from Gaza. The European parliament only recognises the ‘Maritime Activity Zones’ Israel has imposed off the coast of Gaza to a length of 20 nautical miles from the coast of the strip itself. Unlike most countries that border the Mediterranean, however, Israel has never recognised the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – the 1994 treaty establishing a common legal framework for maritime borders.
Schofield was among six Australians — Bianca Webb-Pullman, Ethan Floyd, Neve O’Connor, Surya McEwen, and Cameron Tribe — who were confirmed to be abducted by Israel after the flotilla was boarded. Footage published to the flotilla’s social media accounts appears to show Schofield and several other activists being held at gunpoint.
Anny Mokotow, a Sydney-based activist with Jews Against the Occupation ‘48, was aboard the Bye-Luby when the Israeli navy began boarding the fleet. The Bye-Luby was one of many vessels that successfully evaded the hijacking, escaping into Greek territorial waters.
“Our boat had to do search and rescue to find stranded boats and passengers. Many boats were broken, [their] engines destroyed and rigging cut,” she said.
In a video published from Sitia General Hospital in Crete, Schofield and fellow Australian flotilla participants Ethan Floyd and Neve O’Connor said they were held for two days aboard an “Israeli prison ship,” where they were “beaten and tortured” before being released.
Schofield’s mother, Joanne Jarowski, said on Sunday that she only received word that her son was safe two days after losing contact.
“Zack was on a borrowed phone, and only had a few seconds to tell us he was in hospital for medical review and that he loves us,” Jarowski said. “We want to know his complete medical assessment, and we really bloody want to know why our government hasn’t publicly condemned the kidnapping of our son and detaining him illegally on international waters.”
Human rights lawyer Bernadette Zaydan said the flotilla’s legal team was compiling evidence of Israel’s “grave violations” of international law, including the use of drones to “threaten, intimidate, and surveil civilian vessels” and electronically blocking the fleet’s radio signals.
“By deliberately jamming the vessels’ radio communication systems, Israel prevented crews from exercising their right to make distress calls, recklessly endangering civilian lives and blocking coastal authorities from fulfilling their legal duty to respond to maritime emergencies,” Zaydan said.
Activist ‘witnessed people being shot with pellets’
While most of the 175 flotilla participants abducted by Israel were released in Crete, two flotilla leaders — Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek — were forcibly taken to Ishka Prison in Ashkelon.
The governments of Brazil and Spain issued a joint statement on Friday condemning “in the strongest terms the kidnapping of two of their citizens in international waters by the Government of Israel”, demanding their immediate release. Israeli human rights body Adalah said the pair were “subjected to extreme brutality by the Israeli military during the seizure of the vessels,” with Ávila being “dragged face-down across the floor and beaten so severely that he passed out twice”.
The Albanese government’s response to the abduction of several Australian citizens has been relatively muted. In a pre-recorded message played to callers of DFAT’s emergency consular assistance hotline, the department “strongly advised” Australians “not to try to break the naval blockade [of Gaza]”, as “previous attempts to break the blockade have resulted in death, injury, arrest or deportation of foreigners”.
Floyd, a Wiradjuri, Ngiyampaa and Wailwan man, touched down in Sydney yesterday afternoon. In a press conference at Sydney airport, Floyd described how Israeli soldiers “brutally and illegally attacked unarmed humanitarians” aboard the flotilla.
“I witnessed people being shot with pellets,” Floyd said. “I witnessed people being thrown to the ground, dragged along the ground by their limbs, people being forced to listen to the shouts and screams of people who were being beaten.”
Floyd reiterated the flotilla’s calls urging the Australian government to publicly condemn Israel for “illegally kidnapping and torturing Australian citizens”, expert diplomatic pressure to secure the release of Ávila and Keshek, and end “Australia’s complicity in the genocide in Palestine”.
Despite a ceasefire declared last October, Israel continues to occupy 59% of the Gaza Strip and has killed at least 828 Palestinians. Israel has also blocked aid trucks from entering Gaza, in violation of ceasefire terms.
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