LONDON: Irish citizens who joined the international flotilla that attempted to deliver aid to Gaza between late August and early October this year, and were detained by Israeli authorities as their vessels approached the territory, are “exploring litigation” options. And on Tuesday, they urged politicians in Ireland to “hold Israel accountable” for its actions.
A number of those who were part of the flotilla have also lodged complaints with police in Ireland about their treatment at the hands of authorities in Israel, The Independent newspaper reported.
Some of the participants appeared at a joint meeting of the Irish parliament’s foreign affairs and EU committees on Tuesday, where they told politicians they were denied food, water and diabetes medication during their confinement in Israel, and some people “came home traumatized” by the ordeal.
Sixteen Irish citizens reportedly were among the hundreds detained when Israeli authorities intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla on Oct. 1.
Karen Moynihan, the head of delegation for Ireland at the Global Movement to Gaza, and one of the flotilla organizers, asked the members of the committees: “If another country had kidnapped Irish citizens, what would we have done? I don’t think we would have just sat by and done absolutely nothing.”
