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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://cancelf35.substack.com/p/freedom-flotilla-defies-israeli-piracy">cancelf35.substack.com</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Freedom Flotilla Defies Israeli Piracy, Launches 4 New Vessels from Siracusa Italy</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">James Marc Leas</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">May 3, 2026</div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div dir="auto"><p>Just
days after the Israeli government\u2019s assault on 22 unarmed civilian
vessels of the Global Samud Flotilla (GSF) as they sailed toward Gaza in
international waters west of Crete, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition
(FFC) is pressing forward with new vessels.</p><p>On Saturday May 2, the
FFC launched four new sailboats from Siracusa, Italy. The FFC is
determined not to give in to the Israeli violence. </p><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QyAk!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb2276dd9-ef47-474e-b754-d7fe11413006_4000x3000.jpeg"><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QyAk!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb2276dd9-ef47-474e-b754-d7fe11413006_4000x3000.jpeg" width="534" height="400" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></span></div></a>The sailboat Adalah moments before it set sail for Gaza on May 2, 2026</div><p>The
launch continues the demand to end the siege of Gaza, to end the policy
of collective punishment, to end the genocide Israel is inflicting on
Gaza, and to end the apartheid system Israel established in the occupied
West Bank and in East Jerusalem.</p><p>Israel\u2019s April 29 attack on the
GSF flotilla was carried out while the boats were more than 600 nautical
miles (over 1100 km) from its shores. The attack revoked the freedom of
the seas. It violated the exclusive jurisdiction of the countries that
flagged the 22 GSF vessels. It seized boats and property and physically
assaulted sailors and passengers, putting many in the hospital. It
kidnapped and tortured two GSF leaders, Thiago Avila and Saif Abu
Keshek. It was vicious state-sponsored piracy.</p><p>If the Israeli
government had persuasive facts or arguments with which to answer the
charge that its siege on Gaza inflicted heinous crimes on its 2 million
people it would have used them. Its resort to violence against sailboats
filled with civilians and humanitarian aid admits it had none.</p><p>The
attack on civilian sailboats was part of a pattern of abuse,
lawlessness, and violence that has been enabled, normalized, and
shielded by powerful western countries for decades, especially by the
United States.</p><p>\u201cThe launch of our four FFC vessels is a direct
response to Israel\u2019s escalation of violence,\u201d said Colonel (Ret) and
former US diplomat Ann Wright of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.</p><p>\u201cIsrael\u2019s
violent attack on the GSF boats should have triggered immediate
international action to defend the freedom of the seas, to defend the
exclusive jurisdiction of the countries that flagged the vessels, and to
defend the right of the civilian participants to take peaceful and
legal action to stop a genocide.</p><p>\u201cInstead, we see the same pattern
of inaction that has enabled Israel\u2019s atrocities in Gaza, the West
Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Qatar, Yemen, and Iran. So more people are
stepping up\u2014organizing across borders, launching vessels, and refusing
to accept a world where war crimes and crimes against humanity are
normalized and where civilians protesting them are met with armed
force.\u201d</p><p>The four FFC boats have 30 participants from 12 countries. </p><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cavy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3a3840a9-c434-4c09-b63e-32496785d955_4000x3000.jpeg"><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cavy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3a3840a9-c434-4c09-b63e-32496785d955_4000x3000.jpeg" width="534" height="400" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></span></div></a>Lina during final preparation for launch</div><p>While
governments continue to enable Israel through silence or complicity,
the Freedom Flotilla boats and complementary land mobilizations
represent collective acts of global civil society intervention to
support the people of Gaza.</p><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HJDV!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F537ed027-fe2e-4c73-b56a-51d7f9d39074_4000x3000.jpeg"><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HJDV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F537ed027-fe2e-4c73-b56a-51d7f9d39074_4000x3000.jpeg" width="534" height="400" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></span></div></a>Perseverance </div><p>\u201cSailing
to Gaza is both an act of solidarity and a call for accountability,\u201d
adds David Heap, another Freedom Flotilla Coalition spokesperson. \u201cIt
tells Palestinians that they are not alone and not forgotten. It tells
the political leaders enabling these crimes that the world is watching,
organizing, and acting. It says we will not accept the violent, lawless
world that they want to create for us. Our mission is both to break the
siege of Gaza and to confront the shameful silence and complicity of our
governments that has enabled the genocide.\u201d</p><div><a target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!so25!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e000f83-a3bd-4c55-a97a-a42d5b95f9f4_4000x3000.jpeg"><div><span><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!so25!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e000f83-a3bd-4c55-a97a-a42d5b95f9f4_4000x3000.jpeg" width="534" height="400" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;"></span></div></a>Tenaz just after pushing off on its voyage to Gaza</div><p>The
Freedom Flotilla Coalition issued a call on people in every country to
demand accountability for Israel\u2019s attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla
and for its attacks on Gaza. It calls on people to press their
government officials to guarantee safe passage for all flotilla vessels
and to uphold the basic principles of international law on sea, in Gaza,
and in every country. It calls on all people not to look away from the
heinous crimes the Israeli government continues to inflict on Gaza. </p><p>Now they come for Gaza. But it won\u2019t stop there. Do not be deterred. Do not be silenced.</p><p>Follow the live video feeds: </p><div id="gmail-youtube2-O-NNQzfCwLU"><p></p></div><p><span>Track the flotilla here: </span><a href="https://freedomflotilla.org/ffc-tracker/">https://freedomflotilla.org/ffc-tracker/</a><span> and here: </span></p><p><a href="https://mycaregazaflotilla.org.my/">https://mycaregazaflotilla.org.my/</a></p><br></div></div></div>
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