Adding to the backlash, Italian lawmaker Arturo Scotto said the flotilla was intercepted about 700 miles (1,127 kilometres) from Gaza in international waters near Greece.
“History repeats itself. This time, very practically in Europe,” Scotto wrote on X, questioning whether such “violence and disregard for international law” could be tolerated.
Another war crime
In Spain, Ione Belarra, leader of the Podemos party, said the flotilla appeared to be “seized in international waters” by Israeli forces.
“This is another war crime for which they will one day have to pay,” she wrote on X, calling on the Spanish government and the European Commission to provide immediate protection.
Meanwhile, a Spanish activist aboard the flotilla, Pablo Quesada Martin, said Israeli drones were circling vessels and warned that an intervention could be imminent.
“We reaffirm that stopping a ship in international waters is a violation of international law,” he said in a video message, adding that those on board were seeking support from Greek authorities.
“They are committing genocide in Palestine, carrying out ethnic cleansing, and no one is doing anything about it. Long live the struggle of the Palestinian people,” Martin said.
The flotilla, carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza, aims to break Israel’s blockade and open a humanitarian corridor by sea.
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza since 2007, leaving about 1.5 million Palestinians out of roughly 2.4 million homeless after their homes were destroyed during its genocidal war.
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