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SvennoJ on 09 June 2025
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Silence from governments ‘beyond words’

Mouin Rabbani, a non-resident fellow at the Qatar-based Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, says the “absolute silence” from the Madleen crew members’ governments reflects Israeli impunity.

“If any other state had sent its military forces to seize a small civilian boat carrying 12 unarmed civilians to deliver food, baby formula and crutches to a besieged population, it would immediately be recognised for the act of state piracy that it indisputably is,” Rabbani told Al Jazeera.

“But for Israel, there’s always an exception.”

“This is not only an act of state piracy. It’s in direct violation of the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” Rabbani added, noting that the court has emphasised “the need for the unhindered delivery of humanitarian supplies to the besieged population of the Gaza Strip.”

Madleen crew ‘must be released immediately’

Here’s more from UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who was on the phone with the Madleen crew when they were detained.

“Madleen must be released immediately,” she said in a post on X.

“Breaking the siege is a legal duty for states, and a moral imperative for all of us,” Albanese added. “Every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity, and humanity to Gaza. They shall sail together—united, they will be unstoppable.”



The problem is, every Mediterranean country and the rest of Europe is complicit in the genocide.


Rima Hassan predicted the Madleen’s interception

Member of the European Parliament, Rima Hassan, also prerecorded a message to be shared in the event of her detention. In it, she echoed the message of her shipmates, calling on supporters to pressure her government to act on behalf of all the French crew members on board.

Hours before the Madleen was intercepted, Hassan had recorded another, more candid video, which she shared on X, formerly Twitter.

In that, she told supporters that she expected that the Madleen would be intercepted, that the people on board would lose their phones and other belongings, and that they would be handcuffed and taken to Ashdod, where, she said, they would be interrogated.