Attack on Aid Ship Showed Israel Is Enemy of Awakened Human Conscience: Yemen’s Ansarullah
The Israeli occupiers are not only focused on targeting the Palestinians, but also on any awakened human conscience, Mohammad al-Farah said on Monday.
The Madleen ship, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), was on a mission to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, when Israeli regime forces intercepted it in international waters and kidnapped those on board the ship.
The Israeli enemy has clearly proven that it is not only the enemy of Hamas, Gaza or Arabs, but the enemy of humanity and the enemy of all freedom-lovers in the world that have an awakened conscience regardless of ethnicity, religion or race, al-Farah said.
“We strongly condemn the action of the Zionist enemy in the seizure of the Madleen ship, a humanitarian ship on a mission to break the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip,” he added.
“The occupiers, with the siege of Gaza, are seeking to destroy the inhabitants of Gaza with hunger and disease. They are also engaged in the daily genocide of the inhabitants of Gaza with American bombs and tanks and other weapons of war, and these crimes are carried out in front of the eyes of the international community and the United Nations, the Security Council and human rights organizations,” he deplored.
The international community must put pressure on Israel to stop these crimes and lift the siege on Gaza, he underlined.
Madleen’s seizure drew a wave of anger and outrage worldwide as the act was in brazen violation of international law. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), vessels on the high seas fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of their flag state.
They cannot be boarded or seized by another party unless authorized by a UN Security Council resolution or justified under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which permits self-defense.
Read More:
The Charter also prohibits the use of force against neutral civilian ships except under narrow, clearly defined conditions — none of which were demonstrably met in the case of the Madleen.
International humanitarian law, including the San Remo Manual on Naval Warfare, outlines specific criteria for intercepting neutral vessels: the presence of a declared and lawful blockade, reasonable suspicion of contraband, and refusal to comply with inspection.
The Madleen carried baby formula, desalination kits, and medical supplies. No evidence has emerged that it was transporting contraband or violating any blockade terms.
4287546
