Date: 27Apr 2024
Press Release
The International Commission “Hashd” Welcomes the Special Rapporteurs’ Statement Urging the Israeli Occupation to Provide a Safe Passage for the Freedom Flotilla
The International Commission for Supporting Palestinian People’s Rights “Hashd “closely followed and warmly welcomed the public statement issued on Friday, April 26, 2024, by Mr. Michael Fakhry, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food; Ms. Francisca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 1967; and Mr. Palakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing. They demanded that the Israeli occupation provide a safe passage for the ” Freedom Flotilla,” which is scheduled to depart from Turkey to Gaza, in accordance with international law, international humanitarian law, United Nations resolutions, and recent judgments of the International Court of Justice to ensure the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid.
The statement emphasized that after more than two hundred days since the genocide, including the suffocating blockade and the unprecedented campaign of starvation against the Palestinian people in Gaza, and after 17 years of siege imposed on Gaza, Israel has now created famine by cutting off regular supplies of electricity, water, food, fuel, and essential goods to Gaza, destroying livelihoods, food systems, and civilian infrastructure.
It is worth noting that the ” Freedom Flotilla” is scheduled to transport 5500 tons of humanitarian aid and hundreds of international activists to the Gaza Strip. The fleet, which includes a diverse alliance of human rights activists, including lawyers, doctors, nurses, journalists, parliamentarians, and politicians, aims to directly deliver life-saving aid to the besieged population of Gaza and convey a message rejecting the ongoing collective punishment genocide on the Gaza Strip.
The International Commission “Hashd” expresses its appreciation for the efforts of freedom-loving people around the world, especially the organizers and participants of the Freedom Flotilla, and calls on all parties to cease procrastination and remove obstacles to the flow of humanitarian aid and the sailing of the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. ISAPR welcomes the statement of the Special Rapporteurs as an important step towards expanding international pressure on the Israeli occupation to ensure its compliance with international law, protect the Freedom Flotilla and the activists on board, and allow the passage of humanitarian aid through all available means to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Hashd declares its readiness to work with and alongside the organizers of the Freedom Flotilla and strongly warns against the repetition of Israeli crimes committed in the past against international solidarity ships. It demands the following:
- “Hashd”: calls on the international community to intensify efforts to stop the genocide and ongoing Israeli aggression and demands an end to the policy of collective punishment against the people of Gaza, and the lifting of the illegal blockade imposed on the Strip for 17 years, which has been reinforced by inhumane Israeli measures since the beginning of the war on Gaza.
- “Hashd”: believes it is the duty of the free world to provide safe land, sea, and air passages, including supporting the movement of the Freedom Flotilla and protecting the participating activists, ensuring their unimpeded access to civilians in the Gaza Strip.
- “Hashd”: renews the Palestinian people’s pride and appreciation for the determination and commitment of international solidarity activists and freedom-loving people to break the criminal Israeli policies that constitute serious violations of international law.
End
The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd)
