{"id":166560,"date":"2025-10-02T15:04:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T15:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/how-the-world-is-responding-to-israels-interception-of-the-gaza-flotilla-al-jazeera\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T15:04:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T15:04:17","slug":"how-the-world-is-responding-to-israels-interception-of-the-gaza-flotilla-al-jazeera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/how-the-world-is-responding-to-israels-interception-of-the-gaza-flotilla-al-jazeera\/","title":{"rendered":"How the world is responding to Israel\u2019s interception of the Gaza flotilla – Al Jazeera"},"content":{"rendered":"

Italian unions call for general strike as global protests grow and multiple governments criticise Israel.<\/em>
By <\/span>Erin Hale<\/a>, Faisal Ali<\/a> and News Agencies
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Israel has intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla<\/a> (GSF) while en route to Gaza, leading to swift criticism from global leaders as protesters gather in cities around the world, including Istanbul, Athens, Buenos Aires, Rome, Berlin, and Madrid, to condemn the raid.
At least 44 countries were represented in the 500-person flotilla, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Malaysia, Turkiye and Colombia.
Reactions from world leaders have ranged from outright condemnation to calls for Israel to provide their detained citizens with access to consular services.
Here are some of the responses so far:
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it \u201ccondemns Israel\u2019s attack and aggression against the Global Sumud Flotilla\u201d in a post on X. \u201cThe Global Sumud Flotilla has the right of free passage in international waters, and Israel must not interfere with its freedom of navigation, long recognised under international law\u201d, it added.
Turkiye\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Israel\u2019s intervention \u201can act of terrorism\u201d that violated international law and endangered the lives of innocent civilians.
The ministry said Israel\u2019s actions also demonstrated that \u201cthe fascist and militarist policies pursued by the genocidal Netanyahu government \u2014 which has condemned Gaza to famine \u2014 are not limited to Palestinians\u201d.
Later, President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan said Israel was engaged in \u201cbanditry\u201d for targeting the flotilla, adding: \u201cT\u00fcrkiye supports all passengers of hope aboard the flotilla. We are taking measures to protect activists, our citizens aboard the flotilla.\u201d
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for the immediate release of Malaysian citizens. In a statement on X, he said it would take \u201call lawful and legally grounded measures to hold Israel accountable\u201d.
Israel was not only disregarding \u201cthe basic rights of the Palestinian people but has also trampled on the conscience of the global community\u201d, he said.
South Africa\u2019s President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the immediate release of the participants of the flotilla and confirmed that those detained include Nelson Mandela\u2019s grandson, Nkosi Zwelivelile \u201cMandla\u201d Mandela.
The statement added: \u201cSouth Africa calls on Israel to ensure that the life-saving cargo transported by this flotilla reaches the people of Gaza, as the flotilla represents solidarity with Gaza, not confrontation with Israel.\u201d
President Gustavo Petro announced on X that his government was expelling Israeli diplomats and cancelling Colombia\u2019s free trade agreement in light of Israel\u2019s actions.
He said Colombia \u201cmust pursue all the appropriate demands, including through Israeli courts\u201d to ensure the return of its citizens.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told local media Israel had assured him there would be \u201cno violent actions\u201d against the flotilla.
Italian unions separately called for a general strike on Friday to show their solidarity with the GSF and Gaza, following a strike in September by Unione Sindacale di Base and other protests at Italian ports.
The country\u2019s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said her government would \u201cdo everything we can to ensure these people can return to Italy as soon as possible\u201d but criticised the flotilla and subsequent protests<\/a> organised by Italy\u2019s largest trade union in solidarity with the activists as bringing no benefit to the Palestinian people.
The UK government has said that it is \u201cvery concerned\u201d about Israel\u2019s interception of the flotilla and added that it is in \u201ctouch with the families of a number of British nationals involved.\u201d
\u201cThe aid carried by the flotilla should be turned over to humanitarian organisations on the ground to be delivered safely into Gaza.\u201d
The foreign ministry spokesperson has called on Israel to \u201ccomply with their obligations under international law and to act with proportionality\u201d. Berlin added: \u201cWe also called for the protection of all those on board to be guaranteed, to our knowledge, this has been done.\u201d
Madrid released a statement on Wednesday demanding the \u201cphysical integrity and rights of Spanish citizens be respected\u201d and said its consular teams were monitoring the situation from Nicosia and Jerusalem. Spain\u2019s Prime Minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, told reporters on the sidelines of the EU Summit that his government was extending diplomatic protection to all Spanish citizens aboard the flotilla.
Greece issued a joint statement with Italy earlier this week, calling for Israel \u201cto ensure the safety and security of the participants and to allow for all consular protection measures\u201d.
Irish President Michael D Higgins said Israel was preventing essential aid from reaching Gaza. \u201cThe safety and protection of those involved in this humanitarian exercise is a concern for all of us and all of the nations from which the people come,\u201d he said in a statement.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned what he called a \u201cdastardly attack\u201d by Israeli forces on the flotilla, saying that he was praying for the safe release of those detained. Sharif said: \u201cThis barbarity must end. Peace must be given a chance and humanitarian aid must reach those in need.\u201d
Belgium\u2019s Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot urged the Israeli government to respect international law in a statement on X. He said his top priority was to ensure \u201cthe rights of our compatriots are respected, that their safety is guaranteed, and that they can return home as quickly as possible\u201d.
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The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs called on Israel to grant the French citizens participating in the flotilla access to consular services and \u201callow them to return to France without undue delay\u201d.
The France Unbowed party, which had close to half a dozen of its parliamentarians participating, accused Israel of carrying out an act of \u201cpiracy against the Global Sumud Flotilla\u201d. Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon, the party\u2019s leader, called France\u2019s foreign minister, Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot, an \u201cincompetent fool\u201d, accusing him of siding with Netanyahu. \u201cHe brings shame to our country,\u201d he said on X.
Earlier this week, 20 Democratic legislators urged the White House to take action to protect the flotilla.
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the US largest Muslim advocacy group said Israel\u2019s move on the flotilla show it would \u201ckidnap humanitarian activists and engage in piracy in international waters\u201d.
The organsations Deputy Executive Director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, said: \u201cEvery nation that pays lip service to international law should condemn this illegal attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla and take their own steps to forcibly break the siege of Gaza.\u201d
While the UN itself has not responded yet to the arrests of the activists, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on Palestine, said the Israeli intervention against the flotilla highlighted the West\u2019s inaction towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government.
\u201cAs I watch Israel\u2019s illegal abduction of the only humans who have risked their lives to break Israel\u2019s unlawful blockade, my thoughts are with the people of Gaza, trapped in Israel\u2019s killing fields,\u201d Albanese wrote on X.
\u201cShame on Western governments first and foremost, and their complicit inaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow Al Jazeera English:<\/p>\n

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Italian unions call for general strike as global protests grow and multiple governments criticise Israel.By Erin Hale, Faisal Ali and News AgenciesShareSaveIsrael has intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) while en route to Gaza, leading to swift criticism from global leaders as protesters gather in cities around the world, including Istanbul, Athens, Buenos Aires, Rome, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":166561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-166560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}