‘We weren’t allowed to sail to Gaza but we still highlighted the aid blockade’

Irish activist ​John Hurson, in Istanbul, who was planning to board a flotilla in Turkey destined for the Gaza Strip when he received news that permission for two of the ships to sail had been withdrawn.

Four Irish citizens planning to board a flotilla in Turkey destined for the Gaza Strip have returned to Ireland. An international registry withdrew permission for two of the ships to sail.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition wants to highlight Israel’s longstanding naval blockade of the coastal enclave of Gaza and the lack of aid reaching Palestinians.

The Guinea Bissau international registry asked to inspect two of the ships at a port in Istanbul last week, despite the ships having passed all required inspections.

Registry officials then informed the Freedom Flotilla Coalition that they had withdrawn permission for two ships to fly under the Guinea Bissau flag.

This included one cargo ship that was carrying 5,000 tonnes of aid, including food packages, water, ambulances, and medical supplies for Palestinians.

Tyrone native John Hurson was in Istanbul, planning to board the flotilla, when he received the news that the flags had been withdrawn.

Israeli and US pressure

He blamed Israeli and US pressure on Guinea Bissau for the country’s decision to withdraw the flags from the ships. 

“Needless to say, we are all disappointed and angry, but without flags we cannot set sail… and it could take time for another country to flag the ships.”

An online petition is requesting that Transport Minister Eamon Ryan register the two flotilla ships as Irish and allow them to sail to Gaza under the Irish flag. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said it “strongly” advises against all travel to the Gaza Strip.

“Despite not sailing, we raised awareness and put a spotlight on the fact aid is being denied,” said Mr Hurson. “Thankfully, we didn’t get attacked or arrested, and there will be more eyes on us if we try to sail again.”

While the Irish contingent were in Istanbul, they had attended nightly meetings and non-violence training in preparation for the myriad ways the flotilla could be turned back by the Israeli authorities.

Mr Hurson has taken part in three convoys of trucks that travelled to Gaza by land and provided support to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition mission of 2010, when Israeli forces shot dead 10 people during a raid of a Turkish ship.

The incident sparked a major diplomatic incident between Turkey and Israel; a UN report later found that the manner in which Israeli forces boarded the vessels, “with such substantial force, at a great distance from the blockade zone”, was “excessive and unreasonable”.

Mr Hurson said that significant diplomatic pressure had been placed on Turkey to ban the flotilla from leaving Istanbul. 

“The US, UK, and Germany have sent delegates to Turkey to put pressure on them to stop us,” he said.

Irish activist Amanda Crawford, who said 'we’re getting more determined to get to Gaza than ever', with Palestinian photojournalist Abdelrahman AlKahout who was evacuated from Gaza to Turkey.

Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian-American human rights attorney and one of the organisers of the flotilla to Gaza, said: “Governments must refuse to collaborate in maintaining Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza by obstructing the flotilla in any way. We call on the governments of the 40 countries represented on the Freedom Flotilla to uphold their obligations under international law and demand that Israel guarantee the flotilla safe passage to Gaza.”

After the ships’ flags were withdrawn last week, TD Paul Murphy, who took part in a flotilla to Gaza in 2011, said on X that he had seen for himself then that “Israel would stop at nothing to prevent the flotilla from sailing”.

He told the Irish Examiner: “I want to salute those Irish citizens who are joining the flotilla. Highlighting and attempting to break the blockade of Gaza is vital. We all have to do whatever we can do to stop the ongoing genocide.”

Originally from Dublin but now living in Donegal, Amanda Crawford previously worked as a human rights monitor with the International Solidarity Movement and for Operation Dove, an Italian NGO in the occupied West Bank. 

“We’re getting more determined to get to Gaza than ever,” said Ms Crawford in Istanbul, before returning to Ireland.

Mandla Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, also came to the Turkish capital, hoping to join the flotilla.

Mr Mandela spoke warmly of Irish activist Mary Manning and the Dunnes Stores campaign in the 1980s against South Africa’s apartheid regime, Ms Crawford said.

A 'Tyrone to Gaza' convoy of trucks previously attempting to bring aid to Gaza, a campaign in which John Hurson was involved.

“We’re waiting at home to rejoin as soon as the 'flag' issue is resolved. We’re all determined to rejoin,” said Ms Crawford, back in Ireland.

After self-funding the initial trip, she has begun a GoFundMe page to get the money to return to Turkey when the ships secure new flags.

Mr Hurson said: “Hopefully, we can sail soon. The support that we have received has been overwhelming, and will motivate us even more when we come together very soon in order to deliver the aid to Gaza.”

A spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces said that Israel permits “all humanitarian aid, as it comes in every day from the air and crossings, as well as the port of Ashdod”. Any other action will constitute a provocation that does not serve the entry of humanitarian aid, the spokesperson said.

During an official visit to the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in April, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that he saw large volumes of aid, including water purifiers, electricity generators, and sleeping bags, which had all been refused by Israeli authorities.

Mr Martin said that he could not “rationally come to any other conclusion” than that Palestinians in Gaza are being “collectively punished” by Israel.

An Israel Defence Forces spokesperson refused to comment further on whether the freedom flotilla, if it sails, will be allowed to deliver the humanitarian aid it carries from Turkey to Gaza.

Israeli channel N12 reported at the end of April that the Israeli military had begun “security preparations”, including plans to seize control of the flotilla.