AIGU stands resolutely alongside the Global Sumud Flotilla and strongly condemns the boarding and detention of the ships that took place last night as part of the naval blockade imposed by Israel. These actions, carried out through the use of force, represent a clear violation of international law.
The Flotilla’s vessels were in fact around 70 miles off the coast of Gaza, and therefore in international waters, where the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 1982) guarantees freedom of navigation. Israel has no jurisdiction in that area and could interfere only in exceptional cases defined by international law, such as in the case of pirate ships or with the authorisation of the flag state: conditions that do not apply here.
The Israeli boarding is therefore illegitimate, as it constitutes a use of force, prohibited by Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations and by customary international law. Israel, as the occupying power (a status reaffirmed by the International Court of Justice), has instead the obligation to protect the civilian population and not to obstruct the arrival of humanitarian aid. Preventing the passage of the Flotilla means acting in the opposite direction to these duties.
The Flotilla was exercising a fully legitimate right: so-called innocent passage. It was not carrying weapons, nor did it pose a threat, but exclusively humanitarian and essential goods. Describing this mission as “offensive” is not only legally unfounded, but morally unacceptable.
The context makes the action even more serious: in its orders of 28 March and 24 May 2024 (in the case South Africa v. Israel – https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192), the International Court of Justice had ordered Israel, in light of the worsening conditions of the Palestinians in Gaza, to “take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay and in full cooperation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza, including by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary;” The population of Gaza is living in a condition of starvation, that is, the systematic deprivation of goods essential for survival.
As the Italian Youth Association for UNESCO (AIGU), we reaffirm that global peace and stability depend on the unconditional respect of international law and the protection of human dignity. It is our institutional duty to promote international justice, the protection of civilians and the defence of human rights.
We hope that national governments will take a clear and responsible stance, in defence of peace and international law.