The foreign ministers of Italy, Antonio Tajani, and Greece, Giorgos Gerapetritis, made a joint appeal to Israel this Wednesday “to guarantee the safety and allow all consular assistance” to the crew of the Global Sumud Flotilla, the ships that want to break the Israeli naval blockade to bring aid to Gaza.
Although, on the other hand, the ministers insisted that the Flotilla accept the offer made by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem to safely deliver the aid intended in solidarity with the children, women, and men of Gaza and which would consist of arriving in Cyprus to deliver the aid.
Furthermore, Italy and Greece reiterated the need to ensure humanitarian access to Gaza and to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible.
But they also highlighted that “thanks to the diplomatic initiative of US President Donald J. Trump, for the first time there is a real possibility of ending this brutal conflict and the suffering of the Palestinian population, including through full humanitarian access” and therefore it is necessary to abstain “from initiatives that could be exploited by those who still reject peace”.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is already in the so-called exclusion zone marked by Israel in international waters, and this Wednesday they denounced an “intimidatory operation” by Israel in international waters when an Israeli warship “aggressively” surrounded one of its main vessels early this morning.
More Read
Onboard communications, including closed-circuit transmissions, were “remotely disabled” and the captain was forced to perform “an abrupt evasive maneuver to avoid a head-on collision,” the organization detailed in a statement.
According to the Flotilla, the same ship carried out a similar operation against another of the ships, Sirius, which it considered “reckless and intimidating maneuvers” that put “the participating people at serious risk.”
“Interfering with our passage is illegal, and any attack constitutes a war crime,” the Flotilla denounced.
More Read
You may be interested in: MINERD intervenes Pedro Mir High School and removes principal accused of abuse against students
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also stated yesterday that the attempt by the Global Sumud Flotilla, the activist ships trying to bring aid to Gaza, to break Israel’s naval blockade “may serve as a pretext” for those who do not want Trump’s plan for Gaza to succeed.
“I believe the Flotilla should stop now and accept one of the various proposals presented for the safe delivery of aid. Any other option risks becoming a pretext to prevent peace, fuel the conflict and, therefore, especially harm the population of Gaza, to whom it intends to provide aid. It is time to act with seriousness and responsibility,” Meloni asserted.
