Italian Dockers to Halt Israel-Bound Cargo if Gaza Aid is Blocked
One of Italy's longshore union has threatened to shut down all outbound cargo shipments to Israel if the latest planned protest flotilla to Gaza gets stopped by the Israeli Navy's decades-long blockade. All seven previous seaborne aid attempts have been interdicted, most by Israeli commandos in international waters.
The new flotilla is the fourth so far this year alone, and has just departed Barcelona with a fleet of 50 vessels (of varying sizes) and about 300 personnel in total. The operation has significant support in parts of Europe: in Genoa, local citizens put together an aid package of hundreds of tonnes of food and goods, supported with a $1.2 million donation from the populist Five Star Movement. The city's mayor also joined a march on Saturday to show solidarity with the flotilla's activists, and Genova Today estimated the size of the crowd at the nighttime march at about 40,000 people.
"I wanted to participate in the torchlight procession wearing the tricolor sash because I truly want to represent all of Genoa and its extraordinary solidarity and humanity," said mayor Silvia Salis, expressing her pride in her city.
The sentiment extends to Italy's longshore unions, including Unione Sindacale di Base Confederazione Nazionale (USB), a nationwide union with branches in every industry. "These boats will arrive near the coast of Gaza [in two weeks]. If we lose contact with our boats, with our comrades, even for just 20 minutes, we will shut down all of Europe [for Israeli cargo]," said a docker spokesmand for the union USB. "Not a single nail will leave anymore."
The aid flotilla will rally at a port in Tunisia on September 4, then head onwards to Gaza en masse. Weather delays have reportedly set it back, but it should arrive in mid-September. Israel's government has denounced the flotilla: sources close to Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told local media that the plan is to detain the activist crewmembers in "terrorist-level" jail cells for weeks, then seize their boats for use by Israeli police.
The flotilla's departure coincides with the release of a new assessment from the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), the world's largest professional association of its kind. The IAGS has concluded that Israel's ongoing operation in Gaza meets the UN treaty definition of genocide, based on Israeli officials' statements and the widely-reported events on the ground. Israel's government has dismissed IAGS' conclusion.