AMP condemns seizure of Zaytuna-Oliva; calls for end to siege

Israeli navy intercepts women’s Boat to Gaza
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(Washington Oct 5th, 2016) – The American Muslims for Palestine, a national education and advocacy organization, condemns the Israeli seizure of the all-female flotilla vessel to Gaza, the “Zaytouna-Oliva,” and calls upon President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to hold Israel responsible for the safety and well-being of the detained passengers. 

While the Zaytouna-Oliva is part of an international effort to break Israel’s siege on Gaza and deliver life-saving medical, building and educational supplies, its mission is to deliver a lifeline of hope. The Gaza Strip, home for more than 1.8 million Palestinians, has been under a crippling siege by Israel and Egypt since 2006. Gaza today is the "world's largest open air prison." On board the vessel is a group of approximately 15 women, including Mairead Maguire, a 1976 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate from Northern Ireland, in addition to several parliamentarians and human rights activists, an Olympic athlete, and a retired U.S. army colonel and diplomat Ann Wright.  

This is not the first time the Israeli navy has violated international law and seized a humanitarian ship in international waters. In 2015, Israel intercepted the Marianne vessel that sought to deliver life-saving medical supplies and solar panels. Passengers included former Tunisian president Dr. Mohamed Al-Moncef Al-Marzouki, Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset Basel Ghattas and at least one member of the European Parliament.  In 2010, commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara and killed nine unarmed activists on board, including American Furkan Dogan, several of them ‘execution style,’ according to a United Nations investigation. And in 2012, passengers aboard the Estelle were tasered and clubbed by Israeli commandos.

“Israel’s actions amount to international piracy, and it proves yet again that Israel does not want peace. The Palestinians in Gaza have been living under an inhumane and brutal regime of sanction and it is time for the United States to pressure Israel to lift the siege and end the occupation,” said AMP National Policy Director Dr. Osama Abuirshaid. “It’s unfortunate that instead of calling on Israel to abide by its international legal obligations as an occupying power, our administration chose to place the burden on the human rights activists by calling on them to ‘heed the instructions of Israeli authorities.’ Such position is weak at best and complacent if we want to be more accurate.”

The Free Gaza movement and, later, the Freedom Flotilla voyages began nearly a decade ago in response to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. In addition to the siege, Israel has waged three major military assaults on the 1.8 million Palestinian residents there since 2008. In the  summer of 2014, Israeli forces killed more than 2,200 Palestinians, including 547 children, destroyed more than 18,000 homes, several hospitals and medical facilities and dozens of schools, including seven belonging to the UN Relief and Works Agency, which were housing people seeking refuge. 

An independent investigation, commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council and released last year, found that the Israeli military used Palestinians as human shields, and may have directly targeted civilians and civilian structures, all in direct contravention of International law. The report found that the military frequently violated several internationally accepted protocols of war, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and the prohibition on indiscriminate attacks. 

The siege, which amounts to collective punishment, and successive military assaults that destroyed manufacturing facilities, water treatment plants and power plants, has rendered the Gaza Strip nearly uninhabitable. More than 90 percent of the water is not fit for consumption and most Palestinians there have less than six hours of electricity a day. UNRWA and UNICEF have reported that all children in Gaza have been impacted by these violent attacks and that tens of thousands are in need of psychosocial treatment to alleviate symptoms of trauma. A May 2015 World Bank report said Gaza’s economy is on the “verge of collapse” and unemployment there is the highest in the region. The siege has slashed Gaza’s gross domestic product by 50 percent, the World Bank found. 

AMP continues to call upon the White House and State Department to hold Israel accountable for its flagrant and continual violation of Palestinian human rights and international law. AMP also repeats its call for an end to the siege on Gaza and to the occupation of Palestinian lands. 

Furthermore, AMP calls upon the United Nations to condemn Israel’s latest act of piracy and to enforce the protocols and articles of the Fourth Geneva Conventions to afford Palestinians their internationally guaranteed human rights.