Israel Seizes Ship Bound For Palestine

The picture above is of the Finnish-flagged ship, the Estelle. It sailed from Naples on October 7th. The ship had about 20 people of eight different nationalities aboard, and was carrying a cargo of medical supplies and construction materials (mostly cement). It was bound for the Gaza Strip in an effort to end the Israeli blockade and get needed supplies to the desperate Palestinian people.

The effort failed though, as the Israeli Navy once again violated international law. They seized the ship as it was 30 miles off the coast of Gaza. That means the ship was not in Israeli waters, but was instead still in international waters -- making the seizure nothing more than an illegal act of piracy. The Israeli government said there were no injuries among the Estelle's passengers (unlike last time when some were killed and injured by the Israeli Navy), and the ship had been taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

The Israeli's are trying to claim that they are just trying to defend themselves by preventing military materials from entering Palestinian lands. That is nonsense. If that was true, then the ship should have been allowed to continue to Gaza after being searched (since it had no arms or other military supplies). It should not have been seized and taken to Israel.

The truth is that the Israelis are trying to force the Palestinians into submission by denying them their basic needs, like food, medical supplies, and construction materials. The have been unable to suppress the Palestinian desire for their own country, free from Israeli control, so they are now trying to starve them into submission by denying them the basic commodities necessary for a minimally decent standard of living. This blockade of the Palestinian territories is an abominable crime against humanity, whose victims are innocent people (mostly women and children).

It is time for the United States (and other nations) to put their foot down, and demand that Israel stop the illegal blockade -- and also stop building new settlements on Palestinian land, and negotiate a two-state solution in good faith. Israeli actions have made it clear that they do not want to negotiate in good faith. They want to continue stealing Palestinian land suppress any dissent with their harsh blockade. Israel is in the wrong this time, and it is time for the international community to make that clear.