NAZARETH, (The Palestine Foundation Pakistan)
The Israeli prosecution has filed an exceptional motion before the Haifa Maritime Court requesting the permanent confiscation of 50 foreign vessels that took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which attempted to break the ongoing Israeli naval blockade on Gaza, according to the prosecution’s filing.
In its memo, the prosecution claimed that several of the ships were owned or financed by entities linked to Hamas, and that the state was therefore invoking provisions of international law allowing the seizure of vessels involved in attempts to breach a naval blockade. The prosecution asked the court to issue an order authorizing their confiscation.
The filing described last October’s flotilla, when the ships entered what Israel considers its territorial waters, as “unprecedented” in both scale and operational coordination, saying it posed a challenge to the Israeli navy because of its coordinated movement patterns resembling a naval squadron.
According to the submission, the first group of 41 ships was intercepted on Yom Kippur, followed by nine additional vessels in a second wave.
The prosecution also claimed that the humanitarian aid onboard was minimal, less than five tons in total, far below the capacity of a single truck, alleging that the organizers’ primary aim was to provoke media attention rather than deliver meaningful relief.
It further alleged that there was evidence linking Hamas to the financing and purchase of several vessels through front companies, arguing that this warranted a “firm legal response” to deter any future attempts to challenge the blockade by sea. The prosecution also noted indications that new coordinated maritime efforts were being organized.
The motion, it said, was not only meant to preserve “maritime security and the rule of law,” but also to serve as a deterrent step against what Israel described as “coordinated attempts to undermine its sovereignty and maritime safety.”
In early October, Israeli naval and commando forces intercepted more than 40 vessels participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla bound for Gaza, assaulting the participants before transferring hundreds of them to Ashdod Port.
Israeli sources said the flotilla participants were later subjected to either “voluntary deportation procedures” or forced deportation under judicial orders.
For its part, the flotilla’s organizing committee said Israeli naval forces violently intercepted the humanitarian ships using water cannons and foul water, before cutting off communications and detaining hundreds of volunteers from 47 countries aboard military vessels. The committee described the assault as “an act of maritime piracy and a blatant violation of international law.”
