The Dutch foreign ministry is coming under pressure to condemn Israel for boarding the Madleen, an aid ship crewed by pro-Gaza activists, while it was in international waters in the early hours of Monday.
The ship, with 12 people on board including the Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and French MEP Rima Hassan, docked in the Israeli port of Ashdod on Monday evening.
Its Dutch captain, Marco van Rennes, posted a pre-recorded video on social media when Israel intercepted the vessel, claiming the crew had been “abducted in international waters by the Israeli occupation army”.
The detention of the ship and its crew was the focus of protests in cities around the world, including London, Paris, The Hague and Toronto, later on Monday.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said the ship was 200 miles away from Gaza, north of the Egyptian coast, when it came under attack at 3am while it was attempting to deliver a consignment of aid.
Van Rennes said in his message: “I call on the Dutch government to push for my release and that of all other peaceful activists.”
The foreign affairs ministry said it was offering consular assistance to Van Rennes and was in touch with his family. “We have called on Israel not to use violence against the ship and those on board,” a spokesman said.
“Hijacking”
Opposition MPs called for the government to take stronger action to protect the rights of the ship’s crew.
“The violation of the law of the sea by Israel must be strongly condemned and cannot go unpunished,” GroenLinks-PvdA MP Kati Piri wrote on social media, while D66 MP Jan Paternotte called the boarding of the ship a “hijacking”.
Israel said it had given the activists a medical examination and forced them to watch a video of the terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
It branded the ship a “selfie yacht” crewed by “celebrities”, shortly before the foreign affairs ministry posted pictures and videos of the army boarding the vessel and handing out bottled water and sandwiches.
Former Dutch vice-admiral Ben Bekkering, who now works at the research institute Clingendael, said Israel would have a hard time proving it had complied with international law.
“Countries can decide to detain vessels in the open sea if there is a suspicion of piracy or slave trading. That doesn’t seem to be the case here,” he told NOS.
Amnesty International also issued a statement condemning Israel’s actions. “The operation of intercepting and blocking the Madleen in the middle of the night and in international waters violates international law and put the safety of those on the boat at risk,” secretary-general Agnès Callamard said.