'Not acceptable': Taoiseach hits out at Israeli seizure of Gaza aid flotilla carrying Irish activists
A screengrab from one of the cameras onboard showing the interception of one of the vessels in the flotilla. Picture: eire_globalsumud
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has condemned the seizure, by Israeli forces, of a flotilla carrying Irish activists, saying it was “not acceptable”.
The ships were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla which were intercepted and seized off the coast of Greece this week.
Flotilla organisers said seven Irish activists were "kidnapped" after the vessels were intercepted. They are Catriona Graham, Fiacc O’Brolchain, Robert Murphy, Colm Byrne, Martin Guilfoyle, Michael Fix and John Connellan.
A spokesperson for the group said 22 Irish people are involved in the flotilla and described it as “a peaceful humanitarian mission bringing aid and aiming to break the siege on Gaza”.
They said their boats were in international waters off the coast of the Greek island of Crete when Israeli authorities “rammed” and boarded their vessels.
“Israel must always abide by international law and the rule of law,” said Mr Martin, adding that the international community “do have to call it out”.
Ireland would be raising the seizure at a European level, said the Taoiseach.
“We have already raised the status of the trade association agreement between the European Union and Israel because of what has happened in Gaza, but also now in Lebanon, in more recent times.”
Mr Martin said that while Hezbollah should stop, the reaction has been “disproportionate” and has “displaced so many people in Lebanon and caused so much death and destruction”, something he said is a “breach of international humanitarian law”.
President Catherine Connolly’s sister is part of the flotilla, but is not believed to be among the activists being held.
A video of Margaret Connolly on board a boat was posted to Instagram on Wednesday night, with a caption stating that “surrounding boats” were being intercepted.
Israel's Foreign Ministry said some 175 activists were arrested after 20 ships were intercepted.
The foreign affairs minister also called for the immediate release of all Irish activists.
In a statement on Friday morning, Helen McEntee called on Israeli authorities to "immediately release all Irish citizens detained during this operation, to uphold their obligations under international law, and to guarantee the safety and welfare of all those on board".
"Officials from my Department, including staff at Embassy Athens and Embassy Tel Aviv, have been engaging with the relevant authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance to any Irish citizens arriving in Greece as a result of these developments," she said.
"My clear priority is the safety and well-being of all Irish citizens involved," Ms McEntee added.
The daughter of Robert Murphy, who was arrested, said she and her family have not been in contact since the interception.
Natilie Murphy said the boat he was on, the "Magic Boat", had gone silent after they were tracking in on the Global Sumud Flotilla tracker online.
"We weren’t able to get through to him on the phone … we have just assumed at that point that he had been captured," she told RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Thursday.
She said being boarded in darkness, "with a gun in your face must be so terrifying".
"We still haven't actually spoken to him, which we are so anxious to just hear from him at this point," she said.
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