The expedition of the “Freedom Flotilla”, this humanitarian mission aimed at delivering aid to Gaza by sea in which five Canadians, including four Quebecers, took part, ultimately aborted. But it’s only a postponement, we assure you.
“Like other times, [Israël a] aborted at the last minute,” Dr. Nimâ Machouf, a well-known epidemiologist and member of the flotilla, announced to The Canadian Press on Friday.
Guinea-Bissau, a West African country whose flag two of the three ships flew, announced to the organizers “that we will let you sail if you do not go to Gaza,” she said. .
From Istanbul, Turkey, from where the group hoped to set sail since Sunday, Mme Machouf explained that day by day new “excuses” were being given to them for delaying departure, in particular that additional inspections were necessary although everything was already in order.
According to her, Israel has “no intention of letting Palestine live” and behaves like “pirates of the sea” by putting pressure on governments to obstruct the journey as with the Freedom Flotillas of recent years.
More than 500 people, mainly humanitarians from nearly 40 countries around the world, were to take part in this mission aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade and transporting 5,500 tonnes of food and medical supplies to this population in Gaza. They argued that obstructing their mission is illegal under international law.
Faced with this other failure, the organizers intend to approach other countries to sail under their flag, which should take some time.
Rather than hanging around, the Canadian members will return to Canada. It was “reluctantly”, said Jean-Pierre Roy-Valdebenito, a nurse from Quebec, who was also preparing to participate in the mission.
“We’re starting to decant,” he said shortly after the decision was made. It’s disappointment and there’s a little anger, but we’re determined. Unfortunately, it is as if we accept that it is part of the general problem which is that of the influence that Israel has on many States. »
“Lack of political courage”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday evaded a journalist’s question asking him whether Canada has contacts with Israel to ensure the security of their shipment.
Mr. Trudeau, who took part in a press conference in Bromont, in Estrie, instead affirmed that Ottawa is “pushing very hard on Israel” so that more humanitarian aid is delivered to the occupied territory which is , he admitted, “on the verge of famine, […] in an absolutely deplorable situation.
This response denotes a “lack of political courage” and is “like” Mr. Trudeau who “says very, very general things” in answering a “very simple and precise” question, lamented the doctor. Machouf who previously ran as a candidate for the New Democratic Party.
In a letter sent on Tuesday notably to Mr. Trudeau, to his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, and to the Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault, the members of the “Canadian-Quebec” delegation implored them to do what was necessary to protect them .
Avoiding the question, Mr. Trudeau reiterated, as he has done for months, that Canada is pleading for a ceasefire, and that Hamas must lay down its arms and release the hostages.
“We need to create the conditions to have peace, stability and a two-state solution with a “secure” State of Israel and a “secure” Palestinian state for the future,” he continued.
These are “fine words”, added Mr. Roy-Valdebenito, but they bring “nothing concrete”, not to mention that the Prime Minister continues to present the situation as a war when “it is a situation of conflict”. military occupation […] which is carrying out massacres, which is destroying important infrastructure, which is carrying out massive population displacements.”
Minister Joly indicated Wednesday in an interview with a regional Radio-Canada station that she would follow up with the organizers of the “flotilla”, but the latter say they are still waiting for the phone call.
Mme Machouf said another letter was sent to the minister on Friday to request a meeting. “At the beginning, he was asked for the protection of Canada […]but now, what we are going to ask him is to directly support the mission because it is really in line with Canadian policy […] and to put pressure on Israel to stop putting obstacles in the way of this type of mission,” she said.
On the diplomatic front, Egypt said it sent a delegation to Israel on Friday in the hope of negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Cairo also warned that a possible Israeli offensive focused on the town of Rafah in Gaza could have catastrophic consequences for regional stability.
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, about two-thirds of them children and women.
Israel launched a military operation following a Hamas raid in early October in which Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took some 250 hostages.
– With the Associated Press