“The Conscience,” a Freedom Flotilla Coalition ship, carrying volunteers and aid destined for the besieged Gaza Strip, remains stranded at sea for the fourth consecutive day.
The unarmed civilian vessel was attacked by drones in international waters, 14 nautical miles off Malta, early on Friday, May 2nd. The ship suffered severe damage to its front section; including loss of power, and four people aboard were injured suffering cuts and burns.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has blamed Israel for the attack, calling for Israeli ambassadors to be summoned over what it described as a clear violation of international law.
Andre Callus, a movement graffiti activist, said: “Now we have seen that Israel is even daring to attack in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, just close to so many European countries, and even at this stage, what we see, the reaction to this is silence.”
On Monday, members of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said the group was in talks with the Maltese government about allowing the vessel to enter Maltese waters to repair the damage and continue its journey towards Gaza.
Israel has carried out a drone attack on a Gaza-bound ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists off the coast of Malta in international waters, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) says.
However, Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abella said that unless his government is allowed to inspect the vessel, it will not allow it in Maltese waters and ports.
“As soon as we establish the fact that the ship is indeed carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza, we will take care of the repairs. We need to be in control, especially when the ship has no flag, no insurance, and we don’t know what’s aboard.”
Historically, Malta has had a stand that upholds the right of the Palestinians, to live in that land and also to have their own state. Observers say, however, in the face of a genocide that stand is being perceived as being very weak, because it has not called genocide by its name, and it has not advocated for what it needs to advocate at this stage, that is the sanctioning of Israel.
A few hours before Friday’s drone attack, the Conscience vessel, registered under a Republic of Palau flag, was deflagged, a move that, according to some activists, suggests that the action was a planned assault by powerful actors.
Some members of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition have also said that the fact that no Western government has so far reacted to last Friday’s drone attack on the humanitarian ship shows the impunity of Israel and the complicity of the West in Israel’s genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip.
