KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia vowed on Thursday to take legal action against Israel after some 200 international activists, including Malaysian citizens, were abducted at sea as they carried aid for Gaza aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The GSF mission, which involved representatives from 45 countries, carried over 400 people, including 34 Malaysians. It was scheduled to arrive at Gaza’s coast on Thursday afternoon, but the journey was disrupted after several vessels were intercepted by the Israeli navy.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that 12 citizens were taken in international waters while carrying lifesaving aid to Gaza and demanded their immediate and unconditional release.
It said that “the criminal and cowardly acts of aggression by Israeli forces against the Global Sumud Flotilla” constituted a “flagrant violation of international law, including international maritime law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law.”
Hours later, more Malaysians, who were aboard other boats, lost contact with their mission’s organizer, the Sumud Nusantara Command Center in Kuala Lumpur.
