The Israeli army has intercepted another aid flotilla bound for Gaza on Wednesday morning. 8 Belgians were aboard the flotilla. The Freedom Flotilla confirmed on messaging service Telegram that all its nine boats have been intercepted by Israel
The Belgian activists on board include Dan Jans aboard the Um Saad. Youssef Reziki and Mohamed Azzouz were aboard the Anas Al Sharif and Bénédicte Lienard, a former minister in the government of the Francophone Language Community, was aboard another vessel in the flotilla, the Gaza Sunbird.
In video messages posted on social media the four Belgians listed above all said, “If you are watching this video, we have been intercepted at sea and I have been kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces”. They also called on the public to put pressure on the Belgian government to demand their immediate release.
International law
Lawyers representing Yousseff Reziki, a rapper also known under his stage name Youssef Swatt's, have expressed grave concern about their client’s "arbitrary capture and detention" by Israeli military.
They say that intercepting ships and detaining civilians that are participating in a humanitarian mission on the high seas constitutes a "serious violations of international law".
The Israeli Foreign Ministry says the ships involved in the flotilla and their crews have been taken to an Israeli port and will be deported soon.