Freedom Flotilla Calls It Protest, Expert Warns Blockade Breach Is Hostile Conduct
The high seas are once again becoming a stage for political theater, as the Freedom Flotilla Coalition launches its latest mission toward Gaza. At issue is a deep controversy: is Israel’s naval blockade a legitimate act of self-defense, or an unlawful form of collective punishment? In her article A New Blockade of Gaza: Is It Legal? The Media Line’s Giorgia Valente reports that this year’s flotilla is the largest ever, with up to 70 vessels carrying activists, parliamentarians, doctors, and artists from 44 countries.
Organizers stress that the aid on board—food, medicine, baby formula—is largely symbolic. They insist their real goal is to challenge the blockade itself, which they describe as an unjust punishment of Gaza’s civilians. “The real scandal is that thousands of trucks with supplies are blocked at crossings,” said Sandra Barrilaro, a Spanish organizer, not offering an explanation of who is responsible for the delay at delivering aid as both the UN and Israel blame each other for distribution problems.
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Experts counter that the mission is not benign. Professor Eugene Kontorovich, director of international law at George Mason University’s law school, argues that the blockade is entirely consistent with the laws of armed conflict. “Blockade is a legal and legitimate aspect of naval warfare,” he told The Media Line. Once declared, vessels that attempt to breach it may be stopped, boarded, seized, and even sunk. “A claim of carrying humanitarian aid obviously does not allow running a blockade,” he said.
Israel, for its part, views the blockade as vital to preventing Hamas from importing weapons. Critics of the flotilla see the operation as provocation, aimed at manufacturing confrontations at sea, inviting a response and shifting blame onto Israel. As the ships make their way toward Gaza, the clash is as much about international law as it is about politics—and whether symbolic protests can outweigh security rights.
