As Israel began its unprovoked attacks on Iran on June 13, the last three of the twelve volunteers of the Gaza Flotilla ship Madleen were still in Israeli prisons.
Marc van Rennes, a Dutch citizen, was in the detention cell at Ben Gurion Airport when Israeli authorities closed the airport expecting Iranian retaliation to target the airport. He was then taken back to Israeli prison from the airport.
There he joined French citizens Pascal Mauerieras and Yanis Mhamdi, who were awaiting deportation the following day.
Instead, the three ended up in Israeli prison for four more days, until an international pressure campaign finally brought their release from prison. They were taken by Israeli authorities to the border with Jordan and, after deportation processing at the border crossing, they were handed over to Dutch and French diplomats who transported them to Amman, Jordan.
The international coordination between the Adalah lawyers who represented all the Madleen twelve while they were in Israeli prison, our Gaza flotilla participants team located in Australia, South Africa and Norway and the legal team in Palestine ’48 [Nakba] and in South Africa is evidence of the widespread support for Palestinian solidarity.
Our Gaza flotilla welcome team in Amman, most of whom were participants in previous flotilla missions, demonstrated the width and breadth of Palestine solidarity as they organized events and media in Amman for the three returning Madleen volunteers.
Global March for Gaza and Sumud March for Gaza
While the Madleen three were being released, others from the Gaza flotilla movement joined thousands in Cairo for the Global March for Gaza and in Tunisia for the Sumud March for Gaza.
The international solidarity for ending the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the West Bank is growing tremendously, with more and more outraged citizens demanding action from their governments to end their complicity with Israel.
More Gaza Flotilla Missions to Bring Publicity to the Ongoing Horrific Israeli Genocide of Gaza
The Gaza Freedom Flotilla coalition will continue its mission to bring attention to the ongoing Israeli genocide of Gaza and total blockade of Palestinians from food, water and medicines by sending more ships to challenge the illegal Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
Join the movement and help end the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
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About the Author
Ann Wright is a retired United States Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official.
She was one of three State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.
Since that time Colonel Wright has been a dedicated peace activist.
Ann can be reached at annw1946@gmail.com.
