Derry MP Colum Eastwood contacts British Foreign Secretary about Madleen crew and brands governments' inaction over Gaza 'a sin'

The peaceful mission of the unarmed Madleen crew was to reach Gaza as part of an ongoing humanitarian relief mission organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

They were intercepted however by Israeli military forces while trying to deliver symbolic humanitarian aid.

Onboard the Madleen (in alphabetical order) are: Yasemin Acar – Germany, Baptiste Andre – France, Thiago Avila – Brazil, Omar Faiad – France, Rima Hassan – France, Pascal Maurieras- France, Yanis Mhamdi – France, Şuayb Ordu – Turkey, Greta Thunberg – Sweden, Sergio Toribio – Spain, Marco Van Rennes – The Netherlands and Reva Viard – France.

Mr Eastwood has warned that unless governments use this as a moment to fundamentally change their approach to the genocide unfolding in Gaza, we now risk watching an entire people being extinguished.

He added that it would leave ‘an indelible stain on the soul of western nations’.

Colum Eastwood MP said: “The crew of The Madleen represent the best of us. Regardless of who they are or their international profile, these are people who have risked their lives to breach Israel’s unlawful blockade on humanitarian aid reaching Gaza. They set sail knowing that the Netanyahu regime has demonstrated to the world that they are prepared to use overwhelming force against civilians and that they would be detained.

“I have contacted the British Foreign Secretary this morning to remind him of his obligations under international law to protect the Madleen and its crew. The conflicting details about the vessel’s whereabouts and the detention of the crew are concerning.

“But there is obviously a far bigger issue here – the genocide that Israel continues to inflict on the civilian population in Gaza, the use of starvation as a weapon of war and the clear war crimes that Palestinians are being subjected to every day. This must be a moment when governments wake up, intervene and put an end to what is quickly become the extinction of a people before our eyes.”

Mr Eastwood also renewed his call on the British Government to directly sanction senior officials in the Netanyahu regime, to stop the sale and transfer of arms to Israel, and to use this as the moment to change their approach to the genocide.

"The response to date,” he said, “has failed to match the scale of the horror that human beings are enduring every day in Gaza.

"The inaction on the part of governments here is a sin that will leave an indelible stain on the soul of western nations.”