International Steadfastness Flotilla sails toward Gaza; Ben-Gvir threatens participants

Dozens of boats and small ships set off today, Sunday, from the port of Barcelona as part of an international fleet “International Resilience Fleet” that includes activists from 44 countries, in a new attempt to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and deliver a limited amount of humanitarian aid. Participants are departing from four main points — Barcelona, Sicily, Greece and Tunisia — in an action described as the largest of its kind in years and posing both a diplomatic and military challenge for the occupation.

The fleet includes international activists, European parliamentarians and public figures, among them Ada Colau, the former mayor of Barcelona. Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg also announced she would join the action, after having been arrested months ago by naval forces of the occupation army during a previous similar attempt. Thunberg told Reuters the initiative seeks to open a popular humanitarian sea corridor to break what she called “the illegal blockade”, noting the fleet this time includes dozens of boats carrying supporters from around the world and that more than 26,000 people had registered their desire to join.

Meanwhile, Israel Hayom reported that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has prepared a plan to confront the fleet focused on arresting participants and holding them in the Negev and Damon prisons under conditions similar to those imposed on Palestinian detainees, including depriving them of television, radio and special meals, and keeping them detained for long periods rather than the short overnight detentions used in previous attempts. The plan also includes compiling personal files on participants based on photos or prior relationships with Palestinians and resistance factions.

The plan proposes seizing the participating vessels and converting them into police property in order to create what Ben-Gvir called a “police naval fleet”, accompanied by a legal opinion allowing the occupation to claim the ships entered a closed military zone, which would justify their permanent seizure and give the decision both a punitive and deterrent character. Ben-Gvir’s associates said the aim of these measures is to create a “psychological deterrent” among international activists, arguing that the weeks they spend in prison will make them regret the experience and lose the desire to repeat it.

This approach contrasts with the policy previously touted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who described the “calm” handling of the previous Freedom Flotilla as having prevented a political crisis. However, Ben-Gvir’s circles considered that approach insufficient to achieve deterrence. In a tweet the hardline minister reiterated that he would present his plan to Netanyahu at a small security meeting, saying that “the weeks these supporters of terrorism spend in the Negev and Damon prisons will make them lose the desire to sail a new flotilla to Gaza.”