MADRID: Spain summoned Israel’s top representative in Madrid on Thursday after Israeli forces intercepted a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying activists and humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian territory, the foreign minister said.
“Today I summoned the charge d’affaires here in Madrid,” Jose Manuel Albares told public broadcaster TVE, saying 65 Spaniards were travelling with the flotilla.
Read more: Spain says Netanyahu not ‘the person entitled to lecture’
Israel withdrew its ambassador to Madrid last year after Spain recognised a Palestinian state.
Later in the day, Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot slammed as “unacceptable” Israel’s interception of pro-Palestinian activists on an aid flotilla headed towards Gaza, saying he has summoned the Israeli ambassador.
“The manner in which they were boarded and the location in international waters are unacceptable, which is why I summoned the ambassador,” Prevot told lawmakers in Brussels.
Read more: Gaza aid flotilla braces for blockade as vessels approach
ISRAEL HAS NO INTENTION OF PEACE
On the other hand, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned the aggression, saying it showed Israel’s government has no intention of letting hopes for peace grow.
In a speech to officials from his ruling AK Party in Ankara, Erdogan said that Turkiye was taking all measures to ensure that Turkish nationals in the flotilla are not harmed.
WIDENED UNLAWFUL BLOCKADE
Similarly, the UN rights offices said Israel’s interception in international waters of civilian aid vessels bound for Gaza widens its unlawful blockade of the strip.
Read more: EU credibility collapsing for not acting over Gaza war: Belgium
“As the occupying power, Israel must ensure food and medical supplies for the population to the fullest extent of the means available, or to agree to and facilitate impartial humanitarian relief schemes, delivered rapidly and without hindrance,” spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in an email to Reuters.
He also called on Israel to respect the rights of those in custody, including the right to challenge the legality of their detention.
Also, Germany urged Israel to guarantee the safety of all members of the flotilla as a foreign ministry spokesperson said, “We were in contact with the Israeli government and called on them to comply with their obligations under international law and to act with proportionality.”
“We also called for the protection of all those on board to be guaranteed, to our knowledge, this has been done,” said the spokesperson.
He added that the German embassy in Israel was trying to establish contact with any German nationals involved.
INTERCEPTED
The global outrage came after Israeli forces intercepted around 40 boats carrying aid and foreign activists, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, to Gaza.
Cameras broadcasting live feeds from the boats showed Israeli soldiers sporting helmets and night vision goggles boarding the ships, while passengers huddled together in life vests with their hands up.
Meanwhile, a video from the Israeli foreign ministry showed Sweden’s Thunberg, the most prominent of the flotilla’s passengers, sitting on a deck surrounded by soldiers.
According to a tracker on the organiser, Global Sumud Flotilla’s website, 40 boats were listed as “intercepted” or “assumed intercepted” with another two were said to be “sailing” but one of those appeared to be stationary.