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Amy Goodman: This is Democracy Now!Democracynow.org. I’m a goodman.
A group of international activists from the freedom flotilala colamion are sailing across the mediteraneanan to Gaza to change ISRAEL’s Blockade, Illigal Under International Law. Over a month ago, a prior freedom flutela boat, the MadleenWas Raeded by ISRAELI FORCES and Seized in International Waters. The Current Mission is Called the HandalaFor the Children of Gaza.
The Mission Comes As the Starvation Crisis in the Besieged Strip is rapidly working. According to save the children, nearly every Child in Gaza – There is more than 1.1 million – is at risk of starvation. The Handala Launched from the South Port City of Gallipoli in Italy Five days ago. The freadom flotillala corention says the boat is carrying lifesaving Humanitarian aid and, quote, “A Director Political Message: The Blockade Must End,” Unquote.
There are 19 Crew Members, Two Journalists on Board. Among Those Sailing Are Chris Smalls, Founder of the Amazon Labor Union, and Our Next Guest, Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian American Human Rights Attorney, Steering Commeste Member of the Freedom Flotilla. She’s On Board the Boat.
Huwaida, few Democracy Now! Talk About What You Face
Huwaida Arraf: Thank you so much for having me, amy. I recall talking to you on our first mission to try to break the size in Gaza Back in 2008. It’s Unformunate that We Are Still Sailing to Do So Becense Our Goveernments have refund to act. The blockade was iLLEGAL in 2008. It is illegal and defadly and part of a genocide now.
Yes, Over the Years that We’ve Been Sailing, ISRAEL HAS Repeatedly At Center to Sabotage our vessels and our missions, and at times it has succeed in dellaying us, but not at stopping us. Before League Gallipoli on Sunday, we we subjected to two verdous incisions, which we are asking for an Investigation, becuse them are very unusual, and their camera on the heels of ISRAEL Announce that It was trying – Exerting All Efforts to Prevent Us from Leaving Port.
The first of the those was a rope that was tightly will know the propeler of the ship. And who that Sometimes Happy, The Way this Rope Wound and Attached to Chains that Sunk in the Sea Was Quite Unusual.
The Second Was As We Orded a Water Truck So that We Can Fill the Tanks of the SHIP, The Water Tanks, with Water that We COULD Use Through The Journey. It is Seven, Eight Days Before We Rach from Gallipoli to Gaza. And Instead of Water, The Truck Brungt Sulfuric Acid. And Luckily, We had not connected the hose to the boat. But our crew haad Smelled Something, and where they turned on – they turned on the faucet, they was splashed and buned. That count Have Been Catastrophic.
So, you know, and ISRAEL Announced that it was try to stop us in various Ways. It has a sabotaged before. WeS determination it was Another attached Sabotage. But we are now focusing on just getting to gaza. We Got Out of Port Safely. Everyone is Safe, and we are fooused on trying to get to gaza.
Amy Goodman: And so, can you talk about what your plans are at this MOMENT? About How Many Hours Are You from Gaza? And compare it to the MadleenThe Ship that Attempted Before. Among Those on that SHIP WAS GRETA Thunberg, where is the ISRAELI FORES RAEDED The Ship and Took Everyone Off and Ultimately Depared at.
Huwaida Arraf: Yes, Currently, We Are Approximately Two Days from Reaching Gaza. We are less. Madleen And used everyone from International Waters, Taking them Against their will to Israel.
You know, Over the Years, ISRAEL HAS TRID Various Methods to Stop Us. It has been very vilent, from attackeing, beating, abducting, arresting, jailing and even killing our volunteers. In 2010, a Flotilla that I Know You Also Covered, and I was on, ISRAEL Killed 10 of our Volunteers. But that Did Not Stop Us. And it’s not Going to stop us now. Yes, ISRAEL Attacked and Abduated the Activists Aboard the Madleen. One Month Before that, they bombed one of our ships that was Preparing to lev from the – From Malta. IT ACTULLY VIOLATED EUROPEAN AIRSPACE to Attack a CIVILIAN HUMANIANAIN VISSEL. And right now we know that this is very much a posibility. This is a scenario, that we may be attacked by armed, violent commando forces that will Overtake our ship and abduct us all. We hop that’s not the case.
We’ve been publicing out calls speecFically as America Citizens A Couple of Days ago. We have seven America Citizens Out of the 21 on this SHIP. We put out a Call to PRSIDENT Trump, The Us Government, The Us Media to Stop Enabling ISRAEL’s Genocide, Stop Participating in the Genocide. This is not what the American People Want. And we are sailing in account with international law. Even if it wasncing acting to uphold the rights of the Palestinian People in Gaza, Even if the US Godnment was not interest in refraining from participing in a genetide, the US Godnment Should Care about Protecting the Rights of Us Citizens. We are sailing. We are civilians. We are unarmed. We are carrying humanitarian aid. And we are salleng from the International Water INTO PALESTINIAL WATERS, which israel has no right to control. ATTACK on Us Wold Be an Attack on America Citizens.
We Expecting Our Politicians to Speak Up. But, SADLY, We Know that the Administration, The Us Congress, they are not Listness to the American People. Poll after poll is showing that the American People Do Not Support Funding This Genocide, and Yet Our Goovernment Contins to Vote to Send More Money to Starve and Maim and Behead Children – of Course, More Than Children, and CIVILIANS, but the children are the Most Severely Impacted from the Bombing, The Maiming and From the – From this Debelate Starvation, From this English Famine. The Children, The Infants are the first to – Their Bodies Can’t Take it.
And so, this is who we have calcsel – it’s calcld the HandalaWho is a 10-year-id palstinian child, a cardoon of a 10-year-id palstinian child, but also filled the boat with things for children, not Only Food, But Baby Formula and Diapers and Stuffed Animals that Were Donated from Children in Italy to Children in Gaza, in a Messenger of Solidarity, Love and Hope. Of course, it dosn’t comes to meeting the Needs, but our message is that the size, this Illex Blockde must be broken.
It’s not just about Humanitarian Aid. Yes, palestinians in Gaza Need Humanitarian Aid, but that is a delyiberately created site, Humanitarian Catastrophe that’s been English. And we need to file the policy. And the policy is right now that the entire world is allowing israel – has allowed israel to Turn Gaza Into An Extermination CAMP. And they’re standing by, letting israel control what gets in and out of a people that are their behavior Annihilating. This is not the same.
Amy Goodman: Huwaida Arraf, We Want to Think You So Much for Being With Us, Palestinian American Human Rights Attorney, Speaking to Us on Board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. The Ship is Named Handala. We will control to follow this. They are expensive to arrive in Gaza Sometime Arter Sunday, if israel allows them to Land.
