Activists Blame West for Backing Israel's Genocide in Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A German activist aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship said late Sunday that Western governments are enabling Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza, as Israeli naval vessels approached the vessel attempting to break the blockade.
Yasemin Acar, a German volunteer aboard the Madleen, said the mission was launched in direct response to the continued support her government and others in the West give to Israel amid its ongoing military campaign in Gaza.
“Bombing hospitals, bombing children—these war crimes we have been watching for 20 months, and this is why we are here,” Acar said in a video shared on social media.
“We are here because our governments are continuing to uphold this genocide, the illegal blockade on Gaza.”
The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, is attempting to deliver humanitarian supplies to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Acar reported that the vessel had come under close surveillance by Israeli naval ships as it approached Gaza’s coastal waters.
“Four Israeli vessels surrounded our ship,” she said. “Two came within 200 meters. This has never happened before in the past eight days. That’s why we sounded the alarm again.”
She added that two of the Israeli ships appeared to stop and remain stationary nearby, suggesting a form of psychological pressure.
“We believe this is psychological warfare and they have planned this,” she said.
Acar emphasized that the flotilla’s aim was not to rescue Palestinians but to show solidarity.
“Palestinians will free themselves,” she said. “We are just here in solidarity—to tell them they are not alone, that we will use our bodies, our solidarity and everything we have to challenge this illegal blockade and end the starvation.”
Calling the ship “a small fraction of the global uprising,” Acar urged people worldwide to “pressure your governments” to stop arms sales to Israel.
“This cannot go on,” she said. “This is not a world we should want to live in, and it’s not the world we should leave behind to our children.”
She stressed the mission’s purpose was Gaza itself.
“Children there have the same rights as yours—to live, to be free, to grow up with dignity. We can’t stay silent,” she said.
“The real work,” she added, is to stop governments from sending weapons that “enable these war crimes.”
There are 12 people aboard the Madleen, including 11 activists and one journalist.
Among them are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament; Acar from Germany; and journalist Omar Faiad of Al Jazeera Mubasher.
Others hail from France, Brazil, Turkey, Spain, and the Netherlands.
The vessel departed the Italian port of Catania on June 1, as part of a mission organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition—a civil society effort to break Israel’s blockade and deliver aid to Gaza.
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant had previously threatened to block the ship, saying he had instructed the military to “do whatever is necessary” to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed preparations were underway to intercept the boat.
In a separate incident last month, the Conscience—a vessel affiliated with the same flotilla—was attacked by drones off the coast of Malta.
The ship’s route and mission had been kept secret due to security concerns.
